According to the Boston Globe, Harvard has built what amounts to an in-house production company to create MOOCs: “Harvard has two video studios, more than 30 employees, and many freelancers — an astonishing constellation of producers, editors, videographers, composers, animators, typographers, and even a performance coach to help professors get comfortable in front of a camera.” Harvard spends about $75,000 to $150,000 developing each new MOOC and is increasingly using mini-documentaries, animation, and interactive software tools. Zachary Davis, the producer for historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s Tangible Things MOOC, states that “the first and most important lesson is, you are not just replicating the classroom.” For example, he and Ulrich will ask their students to choose objects from their own lives to study, and will be able to create their own exhibitions on the website Pinterest. According to the article, Ulrich became involved in MOOCs because “she is always looking for ways to engage with the public, and likes the idea of sharing something for free that she thinks will be useful to museums and historical societies.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/behind-harvard-explosion-online-classes-flurry-lights-camera-action