by Holly Finn, Wall Street Journal
“The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed,” wrote Austrian philosopher Ivan Illich, in “Deschooling Society.” He called for “educational webs” woven among us all. That was 1971. Today, Web courses don’t just meet but beat their impersonal offline counterparts. Studies show that tutorial-style teaching is more effective than lecturing (as Oxford and Cambridge have known for centuries), even when prerecorded. Mr. Thrun’s online students told him that the course felt more personal. In this new educational model, the shy and the easily distracted get advantages. You can rewind a video and watch whenever and as many times as you like. Plus, teachers save time with computerized grading and students save money. Most important, the system promotes driven and talented students who might otherwise be denied access to higher education: a kid in Afghanistan, a young mother in Scotland, an ignored pupil in Detroit. From Mr. Thrun’s class Udacity chose 200 students based purely on performance and, a few weeks ago, forwarded their resumes to companies including Amazon, Bank of America and BMW.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577293430981335366.html
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