OER Knowledge CloudJournal Article20122012/10Koutropoulos, ApostolosHogue, Rebecca J.pesonal learning networkonline learningMOOClearnersenLearning Solutions Magazine1-5In the past couple of years, massive online open courses (MOOCs) have become a trend among many members of the educational online community. This is particularly true of faculty who are interested in open educational resources. The course Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK), by Stephen Downes, has been offered at least three times since 2008, and ad ditional MOOCs have been offered that cater to a variety of learning topics including digital storytelling, mobile learning (mLearning), learning analytics, the future of education, and instructional ideas for online success, just to name a few. The struct ure and design of each MOOC varies. For example, the primary means of communication in a MOOC may be: • A learning management system such as Moodle or Blackboard • Online groups such as Yahoo or Google groups • An aggregation of various distributed platforms, s uch as blogs and Twitter, or using gRSShopper (pronounced grasshopper ) A MOOC may provide specific content to learn; however, it is more common for MOOCs to provide learning objectives, or topics, and a list of resources to guide learners to those objectiv es rather than providing didactic content for learners to consume. MOOCs provide opportunities to engage in learning while connecting with others. Learners who are new to MOOCs, and who are not familiar with self - directed learning, often struggle to find t heir place within a MOOC. The majority of MOOCs require that the learner be self - directed and proactive in the learning process. In this article, we offer a few recommendations that will help learners make the most of a MOOC experience. In addition to enga ging in the course material, they provide learners with an opportunity to develop or expand their personal learning networks (PLN). Learner success is enhanced by learner actions before, during, and after the MOOC.http://www.cedma-europe.org/newsletter%20articles/eLearning%20Guild/How%20to%20Succeed%20in%20a%20MOOC%20-%20Massive%20Online%20Open%20Course%20%28Oct%2012%29.pdfhttp://www.cedma-europe.org/newsletter%20articles/eLearning%20Guild/How%20to%20Succeed%20in%20a%20MOOC%20-%20Massive%20Online%20Open%20Course%20%28Oct%2012%29.pdf