> People _register_ for a course, presumably, with the goal of finishing it.
Most of the free MOOCs I've registered for I've not really had a particularly strong intent to finish. (Paid MOOCs are a different story.)
> (Otherwise, why not do a google/wiki search for topic X? Find that specific topic on youtube/MIT OCW?)
Because of a preference for interactive vs. static content, for one thing.
> We can move goalposts and now pretend that MOOCs primarily exist as a random buffet of knowledge and not replacements for actual courses, but that's not how they were positioned.
Actually, being low-barrier-to-entry so as to support more experimental, low-commitment exploration—which logically implies a lower completion rate—is a big part of how free MOOCs were positioned.
Most of the free MOOCs I've registered for I've not really had a particularly strong intent to finish. (Paid MOOCs are a different story.)
> (Otherwise, why not do a google/wiki search for topic X? Find that specific topic on youtube/MIT OCW?)
Because of a preference for interactive vs. static content, for one thing.
> We can move goalposts and now pretend that MOOCs primarily exist as a random buffet of knowledge and not replacements for actual courses, but that's not how they were positioned.
Actually, being low-barrier-to-entry so as to support more experimental, low-commitment exploration—which logically implies a lower completion rate—is a big part of how free MOOCs were positioned.