Philly.com recently published an informative article about the role of elite colleges in online education. Here's a blurb:
“…It hasn't been as clear what role , if any , elite universities would play in what experts call the “massification” of higher education. Their finances are based on prestige, which means turning students away, not enrolling more. How could they teach the masses without diminishing the value of their degree?
But MIT's 2001 debut of OpenCourseWare epitomized a key insight: Elite universities can separate their credential from their teaching , and give at least parts of their teaching away as a public service. They aren't diminishing their reputations at all. In fact, they are expanding their reach and reputation.
It turns out there is extraordinary demand for bits and pieces of the education places like MIT provide, even without the diploma.”
I'm a big fan of opencourseware. Offering free non-credit course material is a great way for elite universities to share their knowledge without decreasing the value of their diplomas.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Should Elite Colleges Randomly Select Students? - 22 February 2005
Elite Colleges Reaching Out to Low-Income Students - 21 February 2006
Elite Colleges Rejecting Record Numbers of Applicants - 07 April 2006
More State Colleges Offer Online Courses - 21 September 2007
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Yale University now offers seven online courses, available to everyone without charge. The opencourseware classes offer no credit or grades, but they're a fun way to give online learning a try. Here's how Yale describes their new offerings:
“Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to seven introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.
Open Yale Courses reflects the values of a liberal arts education. Yale's philosophy of teaching and learning begins with the aim of training a broadly based, highly disciplined intellect without specifying in advance how that intellect will be used.”
Interested? Enroll in a free online course from any of the following departments: Astronomy, English, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, or Religious Studies.
See article.
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As a pioneer in opencourseware, MIT has long offered no-cost learning materials online. Now, its new project, Highlights for High School, provides virtual material to the younger crowd. Here's what Highlights for High School gives secondary students:
“Highlights for High School is your guide to MIT courses selected specifically to help you prepare for AP exams, learn more about the skills and concepts you learned in school, and get a glimpse of what you'll soon study in college.
Need a break from studying? Check out videos of competitions at MIT like the Solar Decathlon. Ever see a bullet smash through a rose dipped in nitrogen? Check out the Strobe Project Laboratory. Studying for the Physics AP exam? Watch an MIT professor explain pendulums by swinging across his classroom.”
Looks like a great way to tailor existing opencourseware content for a different set of people.
See article.
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Yale University is joining the ranks of colleges such as MIT by making some courses freely available. According to Yale Daily News, the Opencourseware content will soon be available online:
“Members of the public no longer need a winning admissions essay to watch Harold Bloom's Shakespeare lectures, which are now available online as streaming video. And soon, anyone with access to the Internet will be able to listen to “Game Theory” lectures on Apple Computer's iTunes or use Microsoft's Live Search interface to virtually leaf through out-of-print books housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The Open Educational Resources Video Lecture Project, developed last year and launched this fall, provides online access to popular talks and lectures through iTunes, and the Microsoft-Yale Project, which was announced in September, will digitalize 100,000 rare English-language books by the spring. The initiatives are designed to facilitate students' research efforts and provide those outside academia a glimpse into the richness of Yale's scholarly offerings, administrators said.”
I've always believed that Opencourseware is a great way to give online learning a try without the pressure. As big colleges like Yale and MIT offer more free courses, hopefully others will follow suit.
See article.
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