Guest Editor: George Siemens

The dramatic increase in online education, particularly massive open online courses (MOOCs), presents researchers, academics, administrators, learners, and policy makers with a range of questions as to the effectiveness of this format of teaching and learning. In early 2013, the impact of MOOCs had been largely disseminated through press releases and university reports. The peer-reviewed research on MOOCs was minimal. The MOOC Research Initiative (MRI), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, addressed this research gap by evaluating MOOCs and how they impact teaching, learning, and education in general. This special issue reflects the research questions and methodologies deployed by MOOC researchers over the past year and represents the current front line evaluation of how open online courses are impacting education.