Online Learning Update

by ANYA KAMENETZ, NPR

Andrew Ho, a lead author of the paper at Harvard, thinks the value of certificates will increase, “but ultimately be limited by the quality of assessments and assessment security, both areas where greater investment is necessary.” Translation: Proving that you and no one else completed that physics problem set costs money. The simplest answer to “What happens now?” is this: Despite lingering doubts about the power and profitability of MOOCs, companies and universities are still spending significant resources to create and support them for millions of people, in nearly every country, for free. It’s an investment, for now, on faith.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/04/11/397295495/the-future-of-free-online-courses-new-research-from-mit-and-harvard