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Introduction
In Boston this past week, I attended one marketing conference and walked past another. I scanned the schedule of the other conference and saw a recognizable set of popular topics: mobile, big data, social media.
And then I noticed a session on MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and their role in the future of education. That evening, I met a college buddy for dinner and we talked about MOOCs. He was experimenting with them and even received a few certifications from completing an online course.
So this got me thinking about MOOCs and their growing popularity. In doing so, I was drawn to the many similarities they have with virtual events. Let’s consider a few.
How MOOCs are Similar to Virtual Events
Extended Reach to a Global Audience
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MOOCs, like virtual events, can reach anyone with an Internet connection. Whether you’re in Paris, France or Paris, Texas, it doesn’t matter.
The New York Times ran a piece about a boy who attended several courses via MIT’s MOOC from his home in Mongolia. And that’s the power of an online platform. Traditionally, your event or your college course required your physical presence. Today, anyone can attend from anywhere.
Disrupting Business Models and Conventions
The emergence of MOOCs and virtual events disrupted venues and formats with hundreds (or thousands) of years of history (e.g. education and events).
When disruption hits an industry, some seek out the change, while others combat it. We’ve seen these dynamics in both the education and events industries. The disruptive force, though, needs to seek and refine a sustainable business model. MOOCs are finding their way. Virtual events have not proven to be self-sustaining, financially.
The Power of Online Collaboration
MOOCs and virtual events help people find and discover new connections (online) and facilitate a degree of collaboration that wouldn’t have happened face-to-face.
In MOOCs, online students can answer each other’s questions (which would be rude to do in the middle of a lecture), while also grading each other’s assignments.
In a virtual event, 50 attendees can simultaneously chat and brainstorm a topic, in a way that just wouldn’t be possible (with that many people) in-person.
Ultimately, the power of online collaboration can lead to face-to-face connections and experiences. The boy from Mongolia (Battushig Myanganbayar) ended up attending MIT. And the girl in Paris, France will end up traveling to the conference that she first attended online.
How MOOCs are Quite Different from Virtual Events
There are important differences between MOOCs and virtual events – and these differences give MOOCs a higher likelihood of finding a sustainable and successful business model.
Education is a More Basic Need
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TED conferences are an exception. In B2B, the majority of conferences and events are for industry gatherings and professional associations. In other words, places you go once you’ve started your professional career.
Higher education, on the other hand, is what many seek in order to land their first job. And because of the high cost of higher education, some families have never sent a single person to college.
MOOCs can now provide a taste of that education to any family member. They’re also relevant to those already in the workforce who want to stay current in their industry or branch out into others.
Conceived by Insiders
Let’s consider some well-known MOOCs: Coursera, edX and Udacity. They were founded by professors at Stanfard, MIT and Harvard. In other words: insiders identified the need, built the platform and formed companies to find sustainable business models.
It’s the insider angle that gives MOOCs their advantage: an insider appreciates the complexities of the system in a way no outsider can. And, the insider has valuable connections that would take outsiders a long time to assemble.
Virtual events platforms were built by entrepreneurs, who partnered with the insiders (event professionals) to find a sustainable business model. Advantage: MOOCs.
Technology Advancement
Virtual events emerged circa 2005-2006. At the time, Twitter didn’t exist, Facebook was just opening its service outside college campuses and the iPhone had yet to be created.
MOOCs emerged several years later, to an entirely different world: a world of social media, pervasive mobile device usage, lower bandwidth costs and more convenient video production/streaming capabilities.
Technologies like USTREAM and Google+ Hangouts have made it a cinch to broadcast live video from anywhere. As a result, they’ve raised the bar for vendors who provide similar services. If only virtual (and hybrid) events had it so easy back in 2006.
A Focus on the Core Unit (the Lecture)
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MOOCs found success by focusing on the core unit of their offering: the online course. Virtual events, on the other hand, charted a more complex route by attempting to re-create the conference experience in 3D or pseudo-3D.
Virtual events had elaborate lobbies and lounges, and an exhibit floor complete with virtual booths. MOOCs have not attempted to re-create the quad, the library steps and the dining hall (although online eating may be possible one day with 3D printers).
Over time, virtual events adapted to focus more on the content and less on the virtual furniture. MOOCs have focused on the core content from the start.
Conclusion
Massively Open Online Events. Would virtual events have evolved differently if we used an alternative name? Probably not. MOOCs, while similar to virtual events, have a number of advantages.
I’ll be watching to see how their business model evolves. And like my college buddy, I’ll have to spend a few evenings attending an online course myself.
It's All Virtual 
I’ve participated in a variety of Virtual online education & training events, as both a student and presenter. Those hosted in a virtual 3D environment, such as Second Life, OpenSim, etc. have indeed attempted to recreate an environment that is familiar and conducive for the delivery of the subject information.
MOOCs may be well suited for the delivery of “raw knowledge,” but they do nothing to immerse the student in that knowledge, in a way that provides contextual learning reinforcement via environmental cues. MOOCs also lack the ability to stimulate the relational bond between presenter and participants. Virtual 3D environments, on the other hand, via the mystery of Motor Neurons, have the potential to provide a much more lifelike learning environment.
The advent of Virtual Augmentation technology, such as Oculus VR, Microsoft Kinnect, Leap, etc. hold the promise of fully immersed 3D learning environments that make the participant believe they are standing in a control room, exploring an archeological dig, traveling inside the human body, etc. I believe THIS, not simply Massive Online knowledge dumps are the true future of online education.
I’m going to forward this to a couple of my associates who are experts in this area. I look forward to hearing their thoughts on this.
John: thanks for your comments. My post focused on the “2.5D” virtual event platforms that businesses use to augment their face-to-face events. I was not comparing MOOCs to immersive experiences, such as Second Life or OpenSim.
Like you, I’m a firm believer that 3D immersive environments can be an effective environment for education. I wouldn’t be surprised if MOOCs incorporated them in the near future.