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""Most learning needs today are becoming too complex to be addressed 'in our heads,'" Mr. Siemens wrote in a 2008 blog post. "We need to rely on a network of people (and, increasingly, technology) to store, access, and retrieve knowledge and motivate its use. The network becomes the learning.""

A lengthy but good overview of MOOCs, with a close look at xMOOCS - Coursera, Udacity, edX that have taken advantage of scalability but tend to reinforce a traditional teacher-student model, and cMOOCS - knowledge building/networking, flexible tools, self directed, chaotic learning. Siemens goes on to share lessons learned from cMOOCs he has been involved with and provides 9 Steps How to Plan/Create a MOOC [approx 58:00] Around 18:00 he makes a provocative statement that because of the expertise available in xMOOCs, he would throw out all of his content, tell his students to take one of these courses, interact with them around the content themes and then assess their work. Other interesting ideas include: the need for regional MOOCs to diversify and fully explore potential innovation [export vs import]; the concern that mid-range universities stand to loose to the 'superstar' professors in the xMOOC model; & the notion of teaching globally, accrediting locally [e.g. Udacity -Pearson testing option for credit]

"Mooc.ca is provided by Stephen Downes (books, newsletter) and George Siemens as a place to host MOOC news and information."

George Siemens