11–20 of 43 posts
There was a minor controversy on campus when OpenCourseWare was being rolled out. Some students thought opening up the courses was unfair since they worked hard to get in and paid $30k+ per year to attend MIT. I'm glad these folks didn't win that debate ;) I'm currently working on a startup to push what MIT has done even further. If you're willing to provide some feedback, then drop me an email for a preview.
I salute to the people who conceive and implement this kind of ideas...
I'd never heard of it, but I've just signed up for one via iTunes U. These look awesome. It will be interesting to see where the world of education goes in the next decade. Personally I'm looking for resources for younger children (5-15) for my own children
This is one of the only things that really annoys me about these courses, is that they are often only available via iTunes U. I don't have, nor do I want, iTunes. I shouldn't have to fire up a VM to access "open" content. I deal with it but it bugs the crap out of me.
Stanford's SEE course are available via YouTube, download, and bittorent.
I like watching them on my iPad off the grid. So having them in iTune-U is nice.
There was a minor controversy on campus when OpenCourseWare was being rolled out. Some students thought opening up the courses was unfair since they worked hard to get in and paid $30k+ per year to attend MIT. I'm glad these folks didn't win that debate ;) I'm currently working on a startup to push what MIT has done even further. If you're willing to provide some feedback, then drop me an email for a preview.
can u tell us what exactly you're trying to do ... thx
I've set up a live video platform to connect experts in specific subject areas to interested students with an integrated payment system for teachers that want to charge for their time.
We also plan to roll out a few exciting features for college students. We'd like to connect students studying a specific subject to be able to easily interact with other college students studying a similar subject. So if you were studying 6.001 at MIT we could connect you either via live video or a stackoverflow like Q&A site to other students at Stanford studying a similar course.
I hope this conveys the essence of the site. I'm not yet ready for the full launch, but stay tuned....As I mentioned before, drop me an email if you'd like to preview and give some feedback.
More interesting is the challenge these things pose to the authority of the entire system of higher education. What's going to happen when most top student at non-top schools get most of their lecture materials from someplace else? I can easily imagine a near future where most interested undergrad calc students learn from Sal Khan and only show up to class for exams. What does a degree mean when one student has done the exact same course work as another only for free? Autodidacts previously had suffered somewhat from lacking structured course work, but that problem is resolved. If you're motivated enough you can design your own education path which will most likely be more efficient than traditional ones.
The obvious answer for higher-ed is to capitalize on what OCW and Khan can't offer: office hours, peer interaction, working on a research team, and lab time. Unfortunately, universities are almost incapable of rapid adaptation to change (we still put on silly medieval hats when we graduate).
Between programs like OCW and Khan Academy, how long can education costs continue to increase at their current rates? I can't imagine students in the future accepting paying $50k? $60k? more? per year when the opportunity exists for inexpensive and high quality programs online. Maybe a lower cost hybrid program would work (to allow for better peer and faculty interaction) or at least the acceptance of an online degre…
Presumably at places like MIT the credential value of a degree is still worth a lot, particularly for those looking for careers in credential-reliant sectors such as academia, but one wonders for how long second- and third-tier institutions with low or no credential value can continue when excellent and free programs like this are so widely available.
Feedback, really. A good college is partially about good company, and partially about great professors.
Right now there's a ton of information, but it's tantamount to books, and PBS videos. Once there's an online college, to help guide the student through the material, there'll be a real revolution. Until then, OpenCourseware will strictly be for those who know where they're going.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
can u tell us what exactly you're trying to do ... thx
Sorry for the teaser! The site will be a one stop shop for online learning from high school to college, to working professionals. I've set up a live video platform to connect experts in specific subject areas to interested students with an integrated payment system for teachers that want to charge for their time. We also plan to roll out a few exciting features for college students. We'd like to connect students stud…
I'd never heard of it, but I've just signed up for one via iTunes U. These look awesome. It will be interesting to see where the world of education goes in the next decade. Personally I'm looking for resources for younger children (5-15) for my own children
This is one of the only things that really annoys me about these courses, is that they are often only available via iTunes U. I don't have, nor do I want, iTunes. I shouldn't have to fire up a VM to access "open" content. I deal with it but it bugs the crap out of me.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably at places like MIT the credential value of a degree is still worth a lot, particularly for those looking for careers in credential-reliant sectors such as academia, but one wonders for how long second- and third-tier institutions with low or no credential value can continue when excellent and free programs like this are so widely available.
I asked this of a friend who went to SVA in New York for graphic design. He said that the real benefit of an excellent, yet expensive, college, is in learning from real people and having the course tailored to the current situation. He said the students, while talented, weren't any different from those at another college. Sure, you can learn how to design by yourself, and many of the greats have, but it's much more e…