MOOC modules can be implemented in formal and non-formal learning, and make learning ubiquitous. ECO focuses on expanding on the most successful experiences with MOOCs in Europe at pan-European scale. This will be achieved through pilots and demonstrations of the best practices implemented in regional hubs of excellence all over Europe, and also through evaluations of outcomes, results and lessons learnt from them in an open and mobile learning context.
Open Educational Resources (OER) has the potential to broaden access to education and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of teaching and learning in Europe. The best way to put OERs into practice is through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). A MOOC is a course that allows for high volumes of participants. A MOOC represents one of the latest developments in open education, an initiative that is always trying to improve quality, access and equality in education and training.
ECO is using e-learning technology to create an innovative plug-and-play concept to create a MOOC platform – based on individual platforms and resources provided by project partners – making it possible to combine and transfer pilot activities.
ECO contributes to increased awareness of the advantages of open education in Europe. The project will prove the potential of MOOCs (courses and communities) for breaking down technological barriers in learning.
The expected impact of ECO will be increased by training teachers who will be able to create their own online courses and other educational resources and distribute them through the ECO learning platform. This will make the project expand into the teachers’ respective communities and, therefore, ECO will pay special attention to the training of European teachers.
