In a recent think-tank panel in D.C. on trends in higher-ed, one online learning expert from Arizona State University said that the next big discussion for colleges and universities would be on online communities. But why is it so important for online learning? The simplest answer is that students like it, so they stick around. … Continue reading
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Keeping an Eye on Online Test-Takers
Millions of students worldwide have signed up in the last year for MOOCs, short for massive open online courses — those free, Web-based classes available to one and all and taught by professors at Harvard, Duke, M.I.T. and other universities. But when those students take the final exam in calculus or genetics, how will their … Continue reading
‘Bill of Rights’ Seeks to Protect Students’ Interests as Online Learning Rapidly Expands
A dozen educators met last month in Palo Alto, Calif., to discuss the future of higher education. They had been convened at the epicenter of technological innovation in higher education by Sebastian Thrun, a pioneer of massive open online courses, and yet the task at hand had nothing to do with software or strategy. It … Continue reading
New Platform Lets Professors Set Prices for Their Online Courses
Professors typically don’t worry about what price point a course will sell at, or what amenities might attract a student to pick one course over another. But a new online platform, Professor Direct, lets instructors determine not only how much to charge for such courses, but also how much time they want to devote to … Continue reading
The MOOC-Led Meritocracy
This week Udacity announced that it had cancelled a scheduled math class over concerns about quality. In doing so, it added another item to the growing list of marked contrasts between MOOC’s and traditional universities. Does this kind of thing ever happen at “regular” colleges? Could it? At minimum, such an event would seem to require (a) defined standards … Continue reading
Actually Going to Class, for a Specific Course? How 20th-Century
The first question many undergraduates ask professors on the first day of class is whether they really have to show up. The way they phrase it is a bit more subtle, says Dekunle Somade, a senior at the University of Maryland at College Park. What his fellow students actually ask is: “Will reruns of lectures … Continue reading
Professor Van Ry 