Abstract

This article aims to present the evolution of the concept of distance education, culminating in the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and considers this method a viable alternative to astronomy education, differing from the traditional classroom methods and other distance learning methods, in its scope, structure and general characteristics. The work was based on bibliographic research and multiple case study, in which the main MOOC platform in the world was tested for the operational and educational resources offered to students. From this study, an model was proposed for astronomy education.

Keywords:
Distance education; Astronomy education; MOOC; Network learning