1. Allow a limited number of students to sign up for a run of the class, which is on a specific schedule, and there's high interaction with and feedback from other students and the instructor.
2. Allow unlimited students to sign up, often at any time, but at most there's a forum or mailing list for participants to interact with each other. Many are just a series of videos or articles, maybe with some assignments, but there's no pressure to complete them.
MOOCs try to combine those. Unlimited students can sign up for scheduled classes. While the class is in session, students are assigned to grade each other's homework, so there's both pressure and interaction.
Most MOOC providers let you "audit" a class for free, which is basically a type 2 online course.
1. Allow a limited number of students to sign up for a run of the class, which is on a specific schedule, and there's high interaction with and feedback from other students and the instructor. 2. Allow unlimited students to sign up, often at any time, but at most there's a forum or mailing list for participants to interact with each other. Many are just a series of videos or articles, maybe with some assignments, but there's no pressure to complete them.
MOOCs try to combine those. Unlimited students can sign up for scheduled classes. While the class is in session, students are assigned to grade each other's homework, so there's both pressure and interaction.
Most MOOC providers let you "audit" a class for free, which is basically a type 2 online course.