Are MOOCs worth the effort when most of the users don't even complete it?

Love the question, as it validates why gamification works- and why some learners respond very well to a leaderboard and the prospect of earning an extra point.

The biggest challenge with MOOC is to help everyone find a way to stay committed to their learning goals. For some people signing-up is enough, for others - and they are a majority - additional stimulus is required, like learning in groups, balancing online with in-person, adding points, challenges and leaderboards. What matters is the outcome: becoming a web developer or not; not how you got motivated to get there.

At the end of the day any quality learning is worth doing, as long as you stay committed to your original learning goals!