Invasion of the Moocs: The Promises and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses

INVASION OF THE MOOCS: THE PROMISE AND PERILS OF MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES is one of the first collections of essays about the phenomenon of "Massive Online Open Courses." Unlike accounts in the mainstream media and educational press, INVASION OF THE MOOCS is not written from the perspective of removed administrators, would-be education entrepreneurs/venture capitalists, or political pundits. Rather, this collection of essays comes from faculty who developed and taught MOOCs in 2012 and 2013, students who participated in those MOOCs, and academics and observers who have first hand experience with MOOCs and higher education. These twenty-one essays reflect the complexity of the very definition of what is (and what might in the near future be) a "MOOC," along with perspectives and opinions that move far beyond the polarizing debate about MOOCs that has occupied the media in previous accounts. Toward that end, INVASION OF THE MOOCS reflects a wide variety of impressions about MOOCs from the most recent past and projects possibilities about MOOCs for the not so distant future. CONTRIBUTORS include Aaron Barlow, Siân Bayne, Nick Carbone, Kaitlin Clinnin, Denise K. Comer, Glenna L. Decker, Susan Delagrange, Scott Lloyd DeWitt, Jeffrey T. Grabill, Laura Gibbs, Kay Halasek, Bill Hart-Davidson, Karen Head, Jacqueline Kauza, Jeremy Knox, Steven D. Krause, Alan Levine, Charles Lowe, Hamish Macleod, Ben McCorkle, Jennifer Michaels, James E. Porter, Alexander Reid, Jeff Rice, Jen Ross, Bob Samuels, Cynthia L. Selfe, Christine Sinclair, Melissa Syapin, Edward M. White, Elizabeth D. Woodworth, and Heather Noel Young. ABOUT THE EDITORS: STEVEN D. KRAUSE is a Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Eastern Michigan University. Some of his recent scholarship has appeared in College Composition and Communication, Kairos, and Computers and Composition, and he has published commentaries in AFT On Campus and The Chronicle of Higher Education. His blog at stevendkrause.com won the John Lovas Memorial Weblog award from Kairos in 2011. CHARLES LOWE is an Associate Professor of Writing at Grand Valley State University where he teaches web design, professional writing, business communication, document design, and first-year writing. He is a long time open educational resource advocate, and the co-editor of WRITING SPACES Volumes 1 and 2.