更新时间：2018-07-29 16:22作者：王华老师
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WhilethereisnowidelyaccepteddefinitionofMOOCs,theirkeyfeaturesareopenaccess：theyarecurrentlyfreetoparticipants,noentryqualificationsarerequired,theysupportanunlimitednumberofparticipantsandasyet,veryfewincludeanyformofaccreditation(认证)．
Currentlyofferedbysomefamousuniversities,MOOCsareattractivetopeoplewhodonothavethefinancialresourcestomeetthegrowingcostsofuniversityeducation,orwhodonothaveformalqualifications.Theyalsoallowparticipantstostudyattheirownpace.
ThepotentialforMOOCstodelivereducationisobviouslyvast—theycouldbeconsideredasahugestepforwardsinwideningparticipation.Theyalsohavethepotentialtoprovideauniquewindowonuniversitiesthatofferpopularandvaluablecourses,theymayattractsomeparticipantstoregisterforformalfee-payingprogrammesatthesameorotheruniversitiesandarelikelytopromotenewwaysofon-lineeducation.
However,itisstillveryearlydaysforMOOCs.Thequalityoftheeducationprovisionishighlyvariable,withmanycoursesofferingonlyrecordingsoflectures,anddeliveryisparticularlydifficultinsomespecialfieldsthatrequirepracticalclasses,researchprojectsorextensivelibraryaccess.Besides,widerengagementwithparticipantsrequiresveryconsiderableresource.Evenlimitedfeedbackorexaminationbecomesamajortaskifthereareseveralthousandstudentsintheclass.