[AnotherDesigner]

Isn't this just them trying to monetize online classes? I've read a few other articles that covered this topic and it seemed he was pivoting away from "education should be free" to wanting paid offerings. I know he has, along with others, complained about the limited number of people completing courses or passing them. I just feel like that's an excuse. I looked over a number over courses but didn't complete them because they were boring, lacked necessary prerequisites or had a poor user experience. I think it's a little early for giving up and I hope something takes free online education seriously enough to solve the problems. I'll also mention that not a single person I know outside of the tech industry has even heard of this stuff. You have to at least try a little before you quit, right?

[Brakenshire]

When you learn for the sake of learning, rather than certification, there's little point in crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's, in entirely finishing a course. You take what you need from it, and move on. Lifelong learning precisely means that you mix education in more closely with the application of the information you have learnt. When I use these resources, I jump around from course to course because I am actively engaged in my education, trying to get exactly what I need to move on to the next step.

If MOOCs want people to follow the material point to point, from start to end, they will need to provide a level of certification which gives people a meaningful incentive to do so.

[psbp]

The education is still free. They're still offering all the course materials they did before, they're just adding on the mentoring and certification tier.