by Tamar Lewin, the Age (Australia)
The spread of MOOCs is likely to have wide fallout. Lower-tier universities, already facing resistance over high tuition, may have trouble persuading students that their courses are worth the price. And some experts voice reservations about how online learning can be assessed, and warn of the potential for cheating. MOOCs first landed in the spotlight last year, when Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford professor, offered a free Artificial Intelligence course, attracting 160,000 students in 190 nations. The resulting storm of publicity galvanised elite research universities across the United States to begin to open higher education to everyone — with the hope of perhaps, eventually, making money doing so. The expansion has been dizzying. Millions of students are now enrolled in hundreds of online courses, including those offered by Udacity,
Share on Facebook