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 will see in the next chapter, it underplays both the actual impact of MOOCs and the adaptability of education. An alternative perspective is to view MOOCs as being similar to OERs, and complementary to formal education. Five such possible functions for MOOCs are set out below.

Open up a portion of c­ourses – ­An online (or blended) course could be structured so that a portion of it functions as a s­tand-​­alone MOOC. This allows students to see if it’s the type of course they want to study, to make connections and experience s­tudying. This type of trialling has been found to be quite significant with OERs (e.g. Perryman, Law and Law 2013). It has several ­benefits for the institution and the learner. Firstly, it acts as a shop window, so it can increase student recruitment. Secondly, it can increase student retention, since those learners who will struggle can find this out for free and either take a different subject, study at a different level or take preparatory material. Thirdly it can widen participation, reaching audiences that the institution may have struggled to reach before. However, it should also be said that without support, the experience may be negative for some students and put them off from studying further.

Open boundary c­ourses – ­As we have already encountered, some courses that have a campus based cohort can be made open to all. The digital storytelling course DS106 and the photography course Phonar are good examples of such courses. As well as the advantages set out above, this has particular benefits in certain subject areas. Photography is one such area where exposure to a wider audience, including professionals and experienced hobbyists, is beneficial. But for all students there is a benefit in developing a network of peers beyond their immediate cohort.

MOOC ­collaboration – I­nstitutions could collaborate on MOOCs which are useful for a range of their students. The same logic that