On The Localization Of MOOC In Chinese Universities

Started in 2012 in the U.S., the wave of MOOC soon got spread around in the higher education sector. The big three platforms were established one after another. MOOC was regarded as the panacea for higher education and would trigger a revolution which would result in the reconstruction of the higher education sector. However, it is not all plain sailing.2013 was called the year of anti-MOOC following the year of MOOC. Some began to criticize that MOOC follows a more behaviourist approach, and the MOOC providers were to make fortune, and the well-known universities jumped on the MOOC bandwagon for fear of being left behind. Some, especially those in less developed countries regarded it as a form of intellectual neo-colonialism. Others even said that MOOC would fade away. As time goes by, people are adopting a more rational attitude toward it. MOOC is not going to replace conventional class but will be a complement to brick-and-mortar colleges and universities and improve their teaching quality. At present, the western countries are estabilishing their own MOOCs and decide to go global, with China as one of their most important targets. Therefore, China must do its best to meet this challenge and develop its own MOOC.This paper explores the birth and development of MOOC with the method of literature research in the U.S., Germany, British and France. Also we employ a questionnaire survey to probe into the situation of MOOC in China by distributing questionnaires to students with nine universities in five cities and processing the collected data with SPSS20. According to the survey, we find that there are mainly three kinds of MOOC providers, namely the government, higher education institutes and companies. Signs of joint efforts are easily seen among them. Most of MOOC courses are created by higher education institutes, and they are of higher quality than the rest from other producers. Some courses are already giving credits. However, we are lagging behind comparing with MOOC develpoments in western countries in terms of platform building, course producing, teaching management and money source. Our higher education institutes are building MOOC separately with little cooperation. In some sense, that goes against the spirits of MOOC and will lead to a low efficiency, which is further aggravated by a scarcity of MOOCers and their low immersion into MOOC courses. Despite the idea of openness, most MOOC courses are scheduled and have start and end dates and are accessible only during period of that time. Some classes are not of good quality or in the MOOC form due to a lack of an approval mechanism and course variety is limited. A traditional way of teaching management is employed, which doesn’t match with MOOC. Money is the key for MOOC’s sustained development, but our higher education institutes have little experience in marketization and money-making as they have been supported by the government.To solve the above problems, we put forward the following suggestions. Cooperation among higher education institutes should be enchanced and classification should be avoided. The government can build several nation-level MOOC platforms, which will be popular among universities and colleges. MOOC platforms and classes should be as open as possible so as to attract the most learners. Higher education institutes should introduce SPOC into conventional teaching, and combine it properly with traditional classes to improve MOOC completion rate and teaching quality. Classes can be imported and self-made. Teachers should be encouraged to develop classes that meet the needs of learners with different knowledge backgrounds and to produce courses with Chinese characteristic and school speciality. At the same time, we should adopt a course approval system, overseeing the course quality throughout the whole process. As for teaching management, we can set up online learning communities, take the advantage of social media tools and organize meetups, which will help to improve teaching effects. A rigid exam system is required as a preparation for future credit-awarding. Higher education institutes should cultivate their market sense and try to find business models to finance MOOC. In brief, a Chinese MOOC-building model has to be found for its successful implementation.