The
promise: free education for all. The reality: the well-educated elite
tweak their qualifications. When universities began offering Moocs –
free online courses open to all – the idea was that people in developing
countries would get access to the best teachers in the world. But so
far the typical learner is educated, affluent and living in the global
north. Is this just an early-adoption problem or have emerging economies
been forgotten in the marketing frenzy? Here, academics discuss whether
online courses have fallen short of expectations