Frank McCluskey, Melanie Winter
American Public University System



MOOCs, Ethics and the Economics of Higher Education


The starting point for article is the question: Is there something in that exchange between a single caring professor and motivated student that, while impossible to assess, measure or digitize, is at the very heart of what a university tries to be? The authors discuss the concept of Massively Massive Open Online Courses in the context of Gartner Hype Cycle and explore MOOC ethical implications. The aim of this short article is, according to the authors, not to support or oppose the deployment of MOOCs but to clarify certain ethical presuppositions.

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