MOOC criteria and support

M = Massive

• The number of participants in the course is unlimited, in other words, there is no upper limit to course admission.
• The course is scaled to a large number of students, which means, for example, that assignments are checked automatically.
• The course subject is considered to be of interest to a number of focus groups.

O = Open

• The course is open to all, in other words, anyone can take part in the course.
• There are no entry requirements for the course – however, it is possible to recommend prior knowledge for the course.
• The right to participate is not limited to specific focus groups, such as students of the University of Helsinki or particular higher education institutions or some other limited group such as teachers.
• All learning materials of MOOCs can be viewed without logging in. At the point when the student wants to return assignments or, for example, participate in an online discussion, the student logs into the online learning environment. The student does not need a University of Helsinki user account - the student can create his own account ID if needed (requires an email address). The account ID is used for joining/self-registration for an online course as a student.

O = Online

• The course is an online course, in other words, it can be completed fully online; for example, possible lectures will be recorded for remote participants.
• The start of studies should be as flexible as possible.
  • Students may start the course at any point during a set period of time.
  • Registration to the Open University takes place only after the course (the registration link will be revealed to students who have completed the course assignments using the access restriction and completion tracking settings in Moodle).
• The study schedule should be as flexible as possible.
  • Assignments have flexible return deadlines.
• The material is open access material, in other words, not material requiring a University of Helsinki account.

C = Course

• Not just material but an actual course including assignments, which must be completed in order to complete the course.
• The course awards credits.
• The course is included in the curriculum of the University of Helsinki.
  • If they so wish, students will be awarded official credits for the studies by registering in the Open University at the end of the course and paying the course fee (according to the DigiCampus terms of use, the MOOC category must not have courses where the course fee is paid in advance of the start of the course).
  • Students, if they so wish, can also include the course in a University of Helsinki degree (at the very least in optional studies)

Technical support

• DigiCampus support
• Courses.mooc.fi (MOOC-centrum) instructions (wiki)
• Mitä eroa on Moodlella, DigiCampuksella ja MOOC-keskuksen verkko-oppimisympäristöillä?

Pedagogical planning, marketing and study administration of MOOCs (student registration and registration of credits):

• Open University ko. subject education specialist. If you do not know your training specialist or you are just planning a MOOC, contact  avoinyo-mooc@helsinki.fi or use this form.
• From classroom teaching to online teaching (ABC workshop), see Suffeli Learning (requires signing in)
• Yammer-group: Moodle & MOOC (requires signing in)
• Digipeda Café on Thursdays in Zoom - find the link and more information in this Flamma news (requires signing in)