MOOCs, massive open online courses, have been part of the educational landscape for more than 15 years on platforms such as EdX, Coursera, and FutureLearn. MOOCs are free (or low fee) online courses that are open to anyone to join. Many of these courses are self-paced, although they may have a period that they are active or accessible to users. Some courses offer certificates for completion, and some are only available for free for a limited period (e.g., FutureLearn).

How can we capitalize on the wealth of knowledge freely available and use these courses to enhance our teaching? Here are six ways to use MOOCs for teaching and for professional development—for all English language teachers at all levels.

1. Take a MOOC for Professional Development

MOOCs are a great way to upskill for a variety of professions, including teaching. There are many professional development opportunities for teachers on topics such as teaching grammar communicatively, critical thinking skills in EFL settings, and the science of learning. Some courses may require a fee for a certificate of completion.

2. Incorporate MOOCs for Flipped Classes

MOOCs can be used with your students in your classes. If the MOOC is an OER (open educational resource), you can use the videos and articles from the courses freely. Assign them as homework or as supplementary learning materials for students. In the flipped classroom model, you would have students watch videos from a MOOC, then in class implement the “homework” you might have otherwise assigned. You can take it a step further by using the content of MOOCs for more creative assignments, such as asking students to create a video for a MOOC reading or develop a quiz or study guide for the MOOC’s videos.

3. Use MOOCs to Learn More About Testing

Are your students preparing for English proficiency exams? There are a variety of MOOCs that help users understand more about these exams and their components. I’ve taken courses on IELTS to help my students take the exams. FutureLearn offers courses on IELTS and EdX offers one on TOEFL.

4. Run a MOOC Camp

MOOC camps are a great way to use an existing course to teach. MOOC camps are synchronous sessions, either in person or online, that bring together participants of a MOOC to discuss the content from the online course and learn together. I’ve run MOOC camps with courses from OPEN (Online Professional English Network), such as English for Journalism with a group of Japanese female journalists. Learn more about MOOC camps on OPEN.

5. Use OER MOOCs to Create Your Own Online Course

Did you know that many MOOCs are licensed under Creative Commons, meaning they can be freely adapted and republished? In Canvas, you can import content to your own course from their repository of free content, which they call Canvas Commons (see how to do so here). You can mix and match different resources from various courses to fit the needs of the course you are creating and add your own materials. Just remember to adhere to the requirements of the different types of licenses (learn more about the different types of Creative Commons licenses here).

6. Have Your Students Translate MOOCs

If your students are at a high enough level of English, you can have them work together to translate a MOOC into their home or preferred language. Many MOOCs are looking for volunteers to translate their video subtitles from English to other languages. Not only will your students be demonstrating their English skills, they’ll be helping others around the world access various MOOCs. Have groups be in charge of each module and allow students to proofread and edit each other’s work.

Professional Development MOOCs for ELT

• Integrating Critical Thinking Skills into the Exploration of Culture in an EFL Setting; self-paced, offered by OPEN English Programs

• Teaching Grammar Communicatively; self-paced, offered by OPEN English Programs

• Teaching EFL/ESL Reading: A Task Based Approach, offered by University of London, UCL Institute of Education

• TESOL Strategies: Supporting ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms, offered by University of Glasgow

Professional Development MOOCs for All Teachers

• Making the Transition to Open: The Easy Way to Create, License, and Share Free Materials, offered by Scottsdale Community College

• Learning to Teach Online, offered by UNSW Sydney

• The Science of Learning – What Every Teacher Should Know, offered by Teachers College, Columbia University

• Understanding Classroom Interaction, offered by The University of Pennsylvania

• Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning, offered by University of Texas at Austin

• Education for All: Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion, offered by University of Cape Town

Claire Lee is an English Language Fellow at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. She has taught in the United States, South Africa, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Her EdM is from Harvard University.