Lessons Learned from the Development and Implementation of MOOC in Digital and Social Media Marketing

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technologies and the culture of sharing change the ways in which the educational services are offered. Mass open online courses (MOOCs) are often described as a disruptive innovation in the education. The paper discusses their nature, the different types and MOOCs' development. It analyses the experience of five European universities co-operating under the project JEMSS, financed by Erasmus Long Life Learning Programme of the European Union. The projects aimed to create an introductory MOOC in Digital and Social Media Marketing as part of a Joint European Master's Degree. The elements of the MOOC course that took place on iversity.org platform are described and compared to the general mass open online courses practices. Conclusions are based on some of the primary research results collected through observation, survey and focus groups at the universities of the project participants. The paper identifies the lessons learned by students, professors and the universities.