I see MOOC's as a big educaational improvement because of this - sure, I could get the same educational info without the MOOC structure; just by reading the field best textbooks and academic papers; but having a specific "course" with the quizzes/homework makes me actually do the excercises, which I wouldn't have done otherwise; and the course schedule forces me to do them now, instead of postponing them for weeks/months/forever.