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Online Learning News and Research
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Friday, November 08, 2002
Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Stephen Downes
When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced last year that it would be publishing nearly all its courses online, the news caused a flurry of excitement, and in some quarters, apprehension. Some hailed it as an innovation that "will generally lead to an increase of knowledge, which in turn will lead to increased innovation in all fields" (Ishii and Lutterbeck, 2001, ¶ 28). But MIT's suggestion that the Open CourseWare project would "challenge the privatization of knowledge" raised the hackles of those whose business it is to sell courseware online. Some commentators raised the possibility of fraudulent use of the materials (e.g., Witherspoon, 2001). Others, like "guttentag" (2002), asked, "How long before we begin receiving emails like this? 'Get an MIT Education for only $24.99! Our one-of-a-kind CD has lecture notes, diagrams, exams with answers and other materials provided by real MIT professors for HUNDREDS of courses'" (Msg. #4362535).
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