This is NOT a MOOC!: Reflections on on-line asynchronous education

In this paper, we describe an on-going experiment in asynchronous on-line learning. In 2010, a popular graduate statistics course was converted to this format. The course has now been offered four times in the new format. We review some highlights from the history of personalized instruction and how those ideas influenced the development of our course; as well as the results of its first four offerings in the asynchronous online environment. We also discuss the potential for the future of on-line learning and the audiences for which it is most appropriate. It is important to distinguish the careful planning and implementation required for successful on-line learning from the currently popular MOOCs. We must not let the fate of MOOCs detract from the many exceptional experiments in personalized learning that have been underway for half a century.