What is a MOOC?
- is an innovative and highly interactive digital tool which offers the unique opportunity to reach an unlimited number of participants worldwide
- creates a stimulating, international community of multi-sectoral learners whereby an individual’s knowledge and understanding can be extended through course materials and interaction with other participants from diverse national contexts and backgrounds – it knows no borders
- allows anyone with internet access across the world to study alongside and interact with thousands of other world-wide learners
- is available 24:7 for a specified period thus allowing flexible participation that can fit around anyone’s own life and commitments. This is also particularly suitable for an international audience who are on different time zones and have differing time available to participate
- can be made available in different languages
- can explore, explain and bring to life the content of guidance, handbooks and other materials in a stimulating and innovative manner
- can be set at a level that is suitable for a wide ranging audience including those who have different levels of knowledge or understanding of the subject matter. This also allows those who may find it difficult for a range of reasons such as cost, time and availability of suitable courses to access other opportunities for training and development
This project builds on the successful record of CELCIS/University of Strathclyde’s delivery of 8 MOOCs broadcast 25 times from 2014-2017 to over 250, 000 people, with further runs of existing MOOCS planned. For example, a previous MOOC on ‘Caring for Vulnerable Children’ produced by CELCIS, reached a total of 55,099 participants drawn from at least 145 countries across the world, while the very first run of the MOOC ,’Getting Care Right for All Children: Implementing the UN Guidelines’, had participants from 172 countries in 2016.