Despite the mixed results from the Babson Survey Research Group report, there is much about MOOCs that is positive. Both educational institutions and private organizations are exploring ways to meet their learning objectives with MOOCs.

A January 2015 report by Visiongain, an independent business information provider for the telecoms, pharmaceutical, defense, energy, and metal industries, anticipates the worldwide revenue from MOOCs will reach $1.5 billion in 2015.

The findings of the report, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Market 2015-2020: mEducation, Distance, Open & e-Learning in Higher Education & Enterprise, were based on the growing use of mobile devices, increasing rates of enrollment in MOOC courses, the growing use of MOOCs for enterprise-level training, and a strong demand for low-cost, high-quality globalized education.

Likewise, in a December 2014 EdSurge article, MOOCs in 2014: Breaking Down the Numbers, Dhawal Shah shares similarly compelling statistics supporting MOOCs:

Shah's article indicates that, while MOOCs are in a phase of early adoption, they are on the precipice of pronounced growth. There are already intriguing examples of what the future holds for MOOCs. Top trends include the following:

Another intriguing evolution acknowledged in Shah's article is that Open edX—the open source version of edX—has emerged as the preferred MOOC platform for organizations and groups. It has already been adopted by organizations in locations such as Jordan, Japan, France, China, India, and the United States.

Further strengthening the standing of Open edX among organizations, November 2014 saw the launch of a conference for developing and using the edX open source platform. Hosted by the Open edX community in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the conference welcomed developers, system administrators, education specialists, and anyone working with or wanting to learn more about Open EdX.

MOOCs are also making inroads into higher education. In 2013, Georgia Institute of Technology announced plans to offer an online MS degree in computer science. Powered by Udacity's MOOC platform and offered in partnership with AT&T, the program—informally called "OMS CS"—is estimated to cost $7,000, a fraction of an equivalent on-campus program. Enrollment opened in January 2015, with the first cohort of classes beginning that fall.

MOOCs are making their mark in emerging educational markets. In March 2015, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and CourseTalk.com, an online course review company, launched of a two-year, 1.55-million-dollar initiative, Advancing MOOCs for Development, to expand education and career training globally.

As part of the initiative, the Technology and Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington will analyze more than 70,000 CourseTalk student reviews to understand the awareness and usage of MOOCs among 18- to 35-year olds in Colombia, the Philippines, and South Africa. IREX, a nonprofit development organization, will provide support for the program.

The research will be used to design a MOOC-centric training framework and create a campaign to increase MOOC enrollment and completion rates in those countries.

Another unique way MOOCs can be used is a Small Private Online Course (SPOC). SPOCs are basically smaller-scale versions of MOOCs that are used with on-campus students or special interest groups who want to share knowledge. SPOCs work well with a flipped classroom approach, combining online interaction with resources in conjunction with real-time engagement in a classroom.

Founded in May 2012 as a partnership between Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), edX has established itself as one of the leading MOOC platforms. edX is currently led by CEO Anant Agarwal, PhD, who taught the first edX course on circuits and electronics from MIT; 155,000 students from 162 countries were enrolled.

Working from MIT's OpenCourseWare initiative, edX is unique among MOOCs as the only one that is both nonprofit and open source (a feature it released in June 2013). Dedicated to a desire to democratize education, edX was designed for students and institutions seeking to transform themselves using leading technology, innovative pedagogy, and rigorous courses, regardless of location, gender, income, or social status.

As of January 2015, edX has more than 10 million course enrollments, with more than 3 million students from every country. Approximately 70 percent of edX students come from outside the U.S. edX learners range in age from 8 to 95, with a student body consisting of 60 percent continuing learners, 24 percent university-age learners, and 4 percent high-school students which comprise edX's High School Initiative.

A powerful platform, edX can enhance education both on-campus and online. To achieve that goal, in September 2013, edX partnered with Google to build MOOC.org—a free, open-source platform for universities, institutions, businesses, and individuals to create courses on the cloud. Still in development, this project will very likely revolutionize online learning just as WordPress reimagined online publishing.

The previously mentioned 4 percent enrollment of high school students reflects edX's High School Initiative, which it launched in September 2014. Students can enroll in AP-level courses on subjects including English, history, mathematics, and science, among others. Teachers can also use the materials of these courses to supplement their classroom curriculum. Students can take a course for free or pay for a Verified Certificate to share with teachers or college admissions.

October 2014 saw the addition of professional development courses to edX. Designed for working professionals, these courses offer students a convenient, time-saving online learning experience that fits into their busy schedules. Courses can run for a few days to several weeks. Content is geared to a specific industry or skill set, with an emphasis on hands-on scenarios from the field. All professional education courses are fee-based; the fees vary by course. Many offer continuing education or professional education credit, and all courses give students the option for Verified Certificates of Achievement.

Around the same time edX launched the professional development courses, they announced that they were beginning to offer their partners the ability to host their courses on a white-labeled site, branded by the institution and powered by the edX platform. You can look for this option to emerge more actively over time.

In March 2015, edX partnered with Microsoft to make courses available for individuals wanting to build innovative applications, services, and experiences on the Microsoft platform. Initial courses include Programming with C#, Introduction to TypeScript, Introduction to Bootstrap, Querying with Transact SQL, Building Cloud Apps with Microsoft Azure, Introduction to Office 365 APIs, and Windows PowerShell Fundamentals.

In April 2015 edX announced the Global Freshman Academy (GFA), a partnership with Arizona State University (ASU). This one of a kind collaboration lets learners worldwide earn freshman-level university credit after passing a series of digital immersion courses. Courses are designed and taught by ASU faculty, while being hosted by edX. There are no application, transcript, no GPA requirements, and no entrance exams. Plus, you only pay for credit when you pass! The result is a reimagined freshman year that's accessible, cost-effective, and personalized.

April 2015 also saw the introduction of a long awaited edX mobile app for both Android and iPhone. Notably, the edX mobile app does not offer full functionality; it is basically a companion to the edx.org website. You can use it to download course videos and watch them later, even without an Internet connection. However, you will need to use a web browser on a computer to access the rest of the course, including course discussions, homework, and quizzes.

39 charter member colleges and universities support edX's mission, including the founding members, MIT and Harvard, and other leading academic institutions comprising the xConsortium. Another 32 universities, NGOs, businesses, and high-profile quality course builders represent the member institutions.

As of May 2015, edX has produced 518 courses: 125 are currently available, 67 more will start soon, 82 are upcoming, and 55 are self-paced; 244 have been archived. Courses cover topics that include biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, finance, electronics, engineering, history, humanities, law, literature, math, medicine, music, nutrition, philosophy, physics, science, statistics, and more. edX, HarvardX, and MITx have successfully piloted several SPOCs as well.

EdX was designed to not only deliver education but also revolutionize learning. Given that goal, edX seeks to understand how students learn, how technology can transform learning, and the ways in which teachers teach. Team members are tasked to analyze data from each course, evaluating mouse clicks, time spent on tasks, how students engage assessments, and other metrics. The short-term goal is to improve a course, but the larger goal is to understand how to best leverage technology for learning.

edX embraces four principles: operate as a nonprofit organization, remain an open source platform, embrace collaboration, and achieve financial stability. The questions edX seeks to answer include the following:

You might find it helpful to keep the preceding questions in mind when developing and teaching your edX courses.