# Pedagogical and Technical Analyses of Massive Open Online Courses on Artificial Intelligence
## 1 Introduction
### Technical and Pedagogical Dimensions of MOOCs  
Regarding the technical dimension of MOOCs, this study focuses on access, navigation, and interactivity. To access some programs and browsers, software components that add specific features (plugins) are needed. Academic studies on MOOCs [9, 10, 11, 12] have established dimensions around quality that include items concerning didactics and pedagogy, and the trainer and student's role or functionality, among others. Along these lines and focusing on roles and functionality, the present study defines the navigation (design, browsing, hypertexts, search engine content, etc.) and interactivity (teacher-student, student-student, messaging, chat, etc.) of MOOCs and MOOC platforms. Regarding the pedagogical dimension, MOOCs involve modular learning that is accessible and allows students or professionals to acquire specific competences based on their actual academic or work needs. This includes the partitioning of degrees into smaller units, described by edX CEO [13] as \"_Lego-like building blocks of learning_\". In general terms, competences are defined as a combination of knowledge (facts, concepts, ideas, theories), skills (the ability to carry out processes), and attitudes (disposition to act/react to ideas, persons, or situations). The 2006 Recommendation on Key Comptences for Lifelong Learning encouraged the development of competence-oriented teaching and learning. In general terms, seven key competences could be highlighted [14]: communication, mathematical competence and basic competences in sciences and technology, digital, learning to learn, social and civic, sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness and expression. According to this approach, the content is established at different levels for the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. A previous study has set out three types of integration processes between knowledge and skills [15]: low-road integration, because of practice towards automatic performance; high-road integration, when learners are able to abstract and detach information from its original context and apply it in new contexts; and transformative integration, linked to critical reflection that involves the ability to withstand social pressure. The popularization of MOOCs was represented in the article \"The Year of the MOOC\" by the New York Times [16]. In relation to the methodology, the main international trend considers xMOOCs and cMOOCs as basic types [17]: xMOOCs are unidirectional and behaviorism-based courses where evaluation is based on questions, tests, and/or work delivery by students, and where dialogues between them are not promoted. CMOOCs are connectivism-based courses that are oriented under the guidelines of the connective learning of [PERSON] [18] and [PERSON] [19]. Moreover, xMOOCs are teacher-based and centralised, and cMOOCs are self-organized and networked [17]. According to this classification and in relation to learning type, the following options can be considered: cumulative, comprehensive, integrated, and critical, with a constant or ascending level of complexity. Regarding resources, MOOCs can use videos, readings, and questionnaires (typical in traditional courses); additionally, they can include forums to create a learning community [20,21]. The evaluation of MOOCs can include what, when, and how to evaluate information for students. What to evaluate is related to objectives and content, when to evaluate considers several options (at the end of each module; at the end of the course; before, during and at the end), and how to evaluate [17] can include self-assessment, peer assessment, etc. Regarding the MOOC platforms, in 2012, due to the high number of enrolled students and based on the technology developed at Stanford, [PERSON] and [PERSON] created Coursera. This platform was supported by universities such as Michigan, Penn, Princeton, and Yale. In 2012, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard jointly produced the Edx Project, a project created from MITx at MIT.