SPOC instead of MOOC, this is how the current trend in eLearning can be summarized.
MOOCs: Open to everyone!
A few years ago, the idea of massive open online courses (MOOCs) spread like wildfire in the digital world . The idea of free access to education fit the ideas of the Open Access movement like hardly anything else. The idea that the elite knowledge of Ivy League universities could, theoretically, be available to anyone with an internet connection, the will to learn and, in some cases, the necessary change, fueled the initial phase of MOOCs and helped eLearning gain prestige.
But as is the case with trends, reality unfortunately does not always match expectations, including in eLearning. Various studies on the topic now show that MOOCs stand in their own way: the high number of participants results in high dropout rates. The eLearning trend failed due to reality.
SPOCs: Open to many!
Because what MOOCs lack – among other things – is social and academic pressure. The feeling that someone registers that the upcoming exercise task is not being completed. If this feeling is missing, the learner's inner weaker self will repeatedly lead to procrastination. The Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) are now intended to solve exactly this problem of eLearning.
We learn together in small groups; a few learners are supervised by a tutor. The tutor is available to answer any questions, problems or ambiguities and thus emerges as a real person from the gray depths of the World Wide Web. The learners themselves can no longer sink into the gray mass of countless participants, just as students can no longer sit in the back row of a seminar with a handful of participants and play Candy Crush. The social and academic pressure leads to the weaker self being put to rest and more learners completing the course successfully.
A few years ago, the idea of MOOCs spread like wildfire in the digital scene, but now they are being replaced by SPOCs.
