31–40 of 47 posts
I think it is great that Harvard and Stanford open their course material on the internet but can someone explain to me why they would do it? I mean, what is in it for them - a bit of PR and friendly headlines aside? Their name and status alone is enough to stay "in business".
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I think the prestige of a university is tied more to the quality of their research, their legacy as an institution and the reputation of instructors they attract (which need not have anything to do with actual ability to instruct) than the quality of the content or instruction. I don't think the other institutions in the "diploma business" can replicate that as easily.
And these are all good points why it does not HURT them to do that. But my question was... why DID they do it?
My response was on the point of whether other institutions in the "diploma business" would peek to keep up. I was merely stating why Harvard, Stanford, MIT and the like have nothing to fear by opening their courseware. My intentions were merely to diffuse the notion that replicating instruction would suffice to compete with Harvard.
As to why they do it, I think other comments have covered that.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the prestige of a university is tied more to the quality of their research, their legacy as an institution and the reputation of instructors they attract (which need not have anything to do with actual ability to instruct) than the quality of the content or instruction. I don't think the other institutions in the "diploma business" can replicate that as easily.
And these are all good points why it does not HURT them to do that. But my question was... why DID they do it?
Think of this: how many people criticized Steve Jobs for not getting involved in charity, although he had billions in the bank? Do you think it looks good for Harvard University, with over $15bn in endowment to not do any good will project?
Lastly, some of these schools already offer remote learning via video. Putting the videos on iTunes is a sunk cost.
Disclosure: I went to one of those "big name" institutions as an undergrad, grad student, and I also worked there. Few are the projects that are TRULY out of the goodness of somebody's heart
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Your definition of lock-in needs a reality check. If my pocket calculator can't access the internet, it doesn't make the internet 'lock-in'.
Pocket calculator designers can implement internet support. Android developers cannot legally implement an iTunes store (I hastily assume).
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Unless, of course, Apple refuses to support your platform. And if Apple does refuse--and they do--, your only hope would be reverse-engineering: you can't just port the program itself because it isn't open source. Imagine the cry if it was Windows only.
We don't have to imagine. Refer to Feynman classes that MS put online and only worked with Silverlight.
A great college textbook I had for intermediate probability theory is "A First Course in Probability" by Sheldon Ross, highly recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Probability-Sheldon-Ross/...
I think it is great that Harvard and Stanford open their course material on the internet but can someone explain to me why they would do it? I mean, what is in it for them - a bit of PR and friendly headlines aside? Their name and status alone is enough to stay "in business".