12 Dimensions of MOOCs

Gráinne Conole wrote about an analytical approach to Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) design in 2014 called A 12-Dimensional Classification Schema for MOOCs.

The dimensions are as follows:

Context
Open	How open the MOOC is
Massive	The scale of the MOOC/Number of participants
Diversity	The diversity of the participants
Learning
Use of multimedia	The amount and variety of multimedia
Degree of communication	The forms of communication
Degree of collaboration	The forms of collaboration
Amount of reflection	The extent to which reflection is encouraged
Learning pathway	The nature of the learning pathway (from learner centred to highly structured)
Quality Assurance	The form of quality assurance
Certification	Whether any form of accreditation is possible
Formal learning	Link into formal educational offerings
Autonomy	The degree of learner autonomy

In her report she analyses a number of MOOCs over recent years using low / medium / high for each of the dimensions. "I would argue that at a glance this classification framework gives a far better indication of the nature of each MOOC than the simple classification as xMOOCs and cMOOCs."

I think it is also a useful classification for exploring the purpose of design features of any particular online course especially where platform constraints are being compared.