Los MOOCs en la dinámica de las innovaciones educativas de la educación superior

This article gives the clues to locate MOOCs in the life cycle of technological innovations. Their characteristic feature is an initial emergent stage accompanied by exaggerated enthusiasm. Five facts in the current stage of MOOCs evolution are analysed, as well as the changes in their nature as they move towards a different model of Higher Education. The article also points out limita-tions, failures and the evolution of open, on-line courses to conclude that although MOOCs de-tected problems and limitations in the Higher Education model at the time of their emergence, they have not become part of its solution. From the standpoint of Instructional Design models and theories, the solution will emerge from finding answers to three complex challenges. Even in that case, the question whether faculty will be ready to drive their efforts to Big Data analysis in order to understand students will still remain a debatable issue. Moreover, the question whether faculty will be ready to design and deliver courses that imply devoting much more attention to students of different origins and conditions on a basis of a better understanding of intercultural learning. The article also deals with seven moments in the evolution of on-line courses in the context of change of Higher Education in order to forecast likely and desirable changes for the future