Sure but Netflix is entertainment. I agree, you may get more users wanting to participate and "stick" with a module if you make the modules smaller and even mor

Sure but Netflix is entertainment. I agree, you may get more users wanting to participate and "stick" with a module if you make the modules smaller and even more up to the user's leisure. By virtue of making things smaller, you make completing an individual unit "easier." I think if your goal is to have a higher "completion rate" per "unit of education" the sure that solves it. However, that is not an interesting metric in and of itself. That being said, I think MOOCs definitely have their place; I just don't think they displace traditional universities. More often than not, I think for very engaged students, they complement an existing traditional student's education. I think a big problem with the format offered by Coursera is really just this idea of "This course starts this time and ends at this time," which is, like as you say, trying to mimic traditional class structure for not much apparent reason. What if I did not know there was going to be a Cryptography class on April 10th (I made that up) but I really wanted to go through the course and solve all the problems and get a grade rather than being "penalized" for only finding out about it months later or even after the course completed? Again, though, I see MOOCs as additional education but not a replacement for traditional college education, and probably more beneficial for autodidact learners.