Over the past few months, I have written about the many advantages of using MOOCs in training programs and have given suggestions on how L&D departments can more effectively incorporate this new training format. In this article, we’ll look at some of the MOOCs that have been developed specifically for training purposes and business audiences, as well as how some companies are already using these courses as part of their workplace training and development programs.
Business and Training MOOCs
Some start-ups have recently developed training MOOCs. For now, they are mostly in the tech fields, but the scope is expanding rapidly. Additionally, major MOOC providers now offer a variety of MOOCs aimed at a business audience.
- Aquent Gym Aquent, a staffing agency for the creative and marketing industries, recently launched Aquent Gymnasium, a MOOC provider offering technology courses for creative professionals. The first course, “Coding for Designers,” is a basic programming course for professional designers to help them work more effectively with software developers. The next two courses to be offered will focus on technologies for web design.
- the muse. Job search site The Muse has expanded into MOOCs. Although the target audience is job seekers, the available courses focus on soft skills that could be used for training, such as “Becoming a Network Master” and “Management 101.”
- openSAP. Business management software company SAP offers several MOOCs for developers, including “Introduction to Software Development on SAP HANA,” “Introduction to Mobile Solution Development,” and “In-Memory Data Management.”
- MongoDB. The database company MongoDB offers training MOOCs on its database products.
- Open Education Alliance. The Open Education Alliance is a recently announced collaboration between MOOC provider Udacity and companies like Google, Autodesk, AT&T, and NVidia. Each of the participating companies has pledged $250,000 to develop MOOCs to bridge the gap between what students learn at traditional universities and the skills employers are looking for. The alliance is also working on an alternative accreditation system for free online courses.
- academic MOOCs. As part of their ongoing search for a viable business model, Coursera and edX are also making plays for the commercial market. This fall, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania put its first-year MBA courses on Coursera. All courses are eligible for verified certificates through the Signature Track program. MIT also recently announced a plan to develop an XSeries on supply chain management on the edX platform. Students who complete all three courses will earn an MITx verified certificate. Finally, Stanford’s NovoED platform hosts a variety of entrepreneurship MOOCs including courses on leadership, finance, and decision-making. The Stanford Graduate School of Business launched its first MOOC, “The Finance of Retirement and Pensions,” on the platform this fall.
Examples of how companies use MOOCs
It is difficult to know exactly how many organizations are already using MOOCs and MOOC elements in their training and development programs, but we can point to some prominent examples.
- McAfee. according to a Forbes According to a report, the information security company McAfee recently used a MOOC model to solve one of its main training problems: its new employee orientation process used to take more than 80 hours and many employees did not complete the process. To address this issue, McAfee “changed the classroom” so that students access content on their own time and use class time for discussions and activities. McAfee said Forbes that the change resulted in both reduced training time and increased sales.
- yahoo! yahoo! sponsors its employees to earn verified certificates through Coursera’s Signature Track program. According to Patricia Brogan, manager of Yahoo!’s Developer Academy, the company partnered with Coursera as a way to encourage employees to continue developing their technical skills so they can apply them to design and create innovative new products.
- JLT group. The insurance company JLT has been using MOOCs as part of the training and development of its employees at various levels. According to an interview with training manager Sunder Ramachandran, the initiative aims to address the training needs of a diverse, young and changing workforce. So far, JLT employees have participated in Coursera’s “Introduction to Public Speaking,” “Introduction to Operations Management,” and a couple of introductory finance courses. According to Ramachandran, JLT has had “moderate success” with the program and is experimenting with the use of MOOCs alongside small face-to-face study groups.
The use of MOOCs in corporate and labor education has benefits on all sides. For MOOC providers, training courses are a potential source of revenue, while for organizations they represent a way to deliver more effective training faster and at low cost. With large initiatives funded by companies like the Open Education Alliance, we can expect to see more MOOCs developed specifically for training purposes in the near future. And as organizations continue to look for new ways to improve their L&D programs, we will undoubtedly see more companies choosing the MOOC model. For companies looking for new ways to deliver training, engage employees more meaningfully in the learning process, or offer more flexible and accessible training solutions, now is a good time to consider trying a MOOC.