panel examines online learning through comparing and contrasting the MOOC format with traditional online strategies. In the last few years MOOCs have achieved a great deal of attention in higher education. While addressing the issue of scale, there is much debate over how well they satisfy learning effectiveness, satisfaction, and overall quality. This panel examines online learning through comparing and contrasting the MOOC format with traditional online strategies. The discussion will focus on both quantitative metrics related to learning outcomes and research based, best practices in the literature.