Towards Formalizing Online Education: Role of Libraries in Mooc Era

Abstract

There are several existing challenges when it comes to MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) learning, and most of them are related to proctoring exams, managing assessments, authenticating learner verification, and localization of learning. In this paper, the role of university libraries to manage these challenges are discussed. There are several reasons, for choosing library to managing these challenges. Firstly, libraries act as an interface between worldwide publishers and universities. Secondly, they have better infrastructure in interacting with online production, integration, as well as subscription of journals, magazines, and educational resources. Thirdly, libraries also have physical infrastructure such as space and reading rooms which are suitable for conducting candidate verification, authentication, and to act as exam centers. Finally, human resource available in libraries are more suitable for academic development, such as integrating MOOCs into educational materials, as well as resolving issues related copyright and payment for subscription of learning resources.