Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are attracting attention and have the potential to significantly impact the traditional model for tertiary education.

The authors of this article briefly outline milestones in the evolution of MOOCs, with particular reference to Stanford University. This article is likely to be of interest to readers who would like rapid insight into how MOOCs developed; current aspects of the MOOC approach; and key areas of ongoing study and development. In this latter respect, the authors discuss key issues of validation, plagiarism, certification, extended student evaluation techniques, opportunities for personalized education, and hybrid models.

Of particular interest is the section concerning personalized education. Here, the authors refer to the extensive volume of data that can be harvested from massive courses delivered electronically. For example, the available data describes how students interact with electronic learning systems, and so provides the opportunity to personalize and optimize human learning. In addition, the authors highlight the opportunity to develop systems capable of presenting information to students using a variety of pedagogical approaches. Hence, a student can theoretically be empowered to select the pedagogical approach that best suits his or her preferences.

This topical article contains a considerable amount of summary information on MOOCs. It is written in an approachable way and provides references for further reading.