I will agree with that, CDFox.
The MOOCS are not a substitute for IRL university ( I read about that guy from Mongolia and posted here about him a while ago) but they are a very fine resource. Further, they have spread the reach of knowledge out. The WWW really has revolutionized the potential for education. Just laying in bed at 3am on my ipad I can access information that even 25 years ago I would have had to go to a university research library to get. MOOCS are here to stay.
To the OP"s point they might as well be done in place of the large intake introductory classes where there is no meaningful interaction with a lecturer/professor AND ideally could be taken ahead of actual attendance.
I can see them useful to for kids (and nominal adults like myself) who are dabblers, tinkerers and delvers into knowledge. For a kid that 'thinks' a subject is interesting this approach allows them try things out before committing, too. This more of an issue outside the US where late adolescents are encouraged to specialise from undergraduate studies onwards.
