And they are fundamentally asking not “is college worth it?” but “who should go to college among those in the bottom 50%?” and “what should we pay for those people to go?” Because if education cost nothing to provide, the question would be moot. In the 21st Century, it’s notable that these same curious people are not asking “Is high school worth it?” even though high school dropout remains a problem and of course it costs money to offer high school as well. What is so magical about the 12th year of education versus the 14th? Absolutely nothing. So why is “worthiness” asked of the 14th year? Because the country simply hasn’t gotten around to providing a free public option.
Higher Education
What courses rarely do is step back to help students understand why they are learning a certain subject matter in a way that gives them both insights into why someone else (i.e. their prof) would dedicate their lives to researching in that area while also giving them the meta-cognitive ability to take a much less specialized version of that knowledge and apply it elsewhere.
Cathy Davidson in “How to Get a Job at Google: Rsp to NYTimes Tom Friedman”
What College Courses Don’t Do
Higher EducationMOOCs are the Wal-Mart of higher education.
From “We’re All to Blame for MOOCs”
MOOCs are the Wal-Mart …
Higher EducationMOOCs are like the patronising uncle who has yet to have a child of his own. They are great fun for the nieces and nephews, they are inventive, playful, and the kids always look forward to them arriving. But this uncle secretly (and after a couple of beers, not so secretly) thinks he could do a better job at raising the kids than the parents. He may also think they prefer him to their actual mum and dad.
Love the “Uncle MOOC” metaphor.
– from The Ed Techie
MOOCs Are Like …
Higher EducationRobot graders raise all sorts of questions about thinking machines and thinking humans, about self-expression and creativity, about the purpose of writing, the purpose of writing assignments, the purpose of education, and the ethics of education technology and of robots in the classroom.
Audrey Watters, Hack Education
Auto-Grading
Higher EducationFor the first time since the beginning of standardized education, students who are marginalized because they don’t fit our socially privileged version of learning are lifting the veil and realizing they aren’t the problem.
Technologies Leveling the Playing Field
Higher EducationEven if its [Udacity’s] courses may seem cheaper or more accessible, offering a more viable entree into post-secondary education, they do so by (a) privatizing such an activity among an organization purpose-built to convert the needs of the many into the benefit of the very few and (b) by reframing the social challenges inherent in underserved educational populations as simple problems of content delivery.
“Inequality in American Education Will Not Be Solved Online” by Ian Bogost
A good response to the TechCrunch article on how MOOCs will end college as we know it.
Misconceptions of MOOCs
Higher EducationThe report notes that colleges will have to rely on more strategic leaders who address these challenges through better use of technology to cut costs, create efficiency in their operations, demonstrate value, reach new markets, and prioritize programs. Many of those efforts could be grounds for disputes with faculty members or other institutional constituents unless leaders can get the collective buy-in that has long been the staple of higher education governance.
Inside Higher Ed
Kate Miffitt 