The Impact of a Research-Based Institutional Strategy for Opening up Educational Practices: The Case of the MOOC-Maker Project

The MOOC-Maker project aimed to research on initiatives related to the development of management capacities in massive open online courses (MOOC). This paper presents the main experiences of the partner institutions in the MOOC-Maker project and describes the improvements achieved by the partner institutions in what concerns the design, development, and implementation of MOOC as a result of the research-based approach used in the project. In terms of methodology, we used content analysis of the different deliverables produced in the framework of the MOOC-Maker project and of the data retrieved from a dedicated survey sent to all partners. The paper elaborates on the definition, evolution, and major trends of MOOC, and open education, with particular emphasis on Latin America, characterizes the partner institutions, presents the main outcomes of the project, and finally, states a series of recommendations for quality improvement regarding the different phases of the MOOC production cycle: institutional planning, learning design, quality assurance, and certification procedures.