by Jim Farmer, e-Literate
It is unlikely University of Virginia Rector Helen E. Dragas realized the national impact of the email exchanges among the Board of Visitors, made public by the Richmond Times, would have on the public’s perception of online learning. Coursera has become the new expectation of “online learning.” Without any reference either to prior art or to costs and benefits, the press has documented an assessment of why and how online should be widely implemented. Online courses are, they report, very effective, high quality, very low-cost instruction matched to the needs of Internet savvy schedule-constrained students. The expected wave of technology becomes, as one report said, “a tsunami.” Silicon Valley and private equity now appears to be leading the national expectation for the “reform” of higher education. Their impact on the future of higher education will depend upon how immediately and how well higher education responds.
http://mfeldstein.com/blackboard-inc-the-rise-of-the-new-online-learning-and-the-race-for-profits/
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