Learning Ecosystems

Megatrends in MOOCs: #1 Adoption at Corporate Universities — from by Bryant Nielson

Excerpt:

How do MOOCs fit in with corporate universities?

In many ways, the reasons corporate universities have expanded are some of the same reasons that MOOCs are becoming so popular, especially for a growing crop of non-traditional learners: the courses provide a way for learners to get the personalized education they need to succeed in their job and advance their career, and both students and employers are finding that traditional colleges and universities are not satisfactorily preparing graduates to enter the workforce.

Recently in corporate universities, the dominant model of education has started to change. Moving away from instructor-led training and traditional computer-based training, companies are starting to transition toward more connected digital learning environments, including MOOCs. One of the biggest stories of the past year was the announcement in November that multinational steel manufacturing company Tenaris would partner with MOOC provider edX to expand the firm’s training and education offerings to its 27,000 employees worldwide. Under the agreement, Tenaris can both develop MOOCs on the edX platform and license courses developed by others.

MOOCs can provide several advantages for corporate universities…

A somewhat-related posting from Debbie Morrison over at the Online Learning Insights blog:

• An Unique Approach to a xMOOC — Learner-Centric Course Design