[LINK] New free MIT learning platform 'with a virtual community of learners worldwide'

[Tom Worthington]

On 20/12/11 21:22, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> M.I.T. Expands Its Free Online Courses (also certificates)
> By TAMAR LEWIN www.NYTimes.com Published: December 19, 2011
>
> ... M.I.T.x would start this spring  ...

MIT needs a more global mid-set for its on-line courses. Saying a course 
starts in "Spring" is misleading for the southern hemisphere and 
meaningless in tropical regions.

> The M.I.T.x classes, he said, will have online discussions and forums
> where students can ask questions and, often, have them answered by others
> in the class. ...

Other online providers, such as UK's Open University, have been offering 
online discussion forums for years: 
http://blog.tomw.net.au/2010/10/open-university-e-learning-tools.html

> While access to the software will be free, there will most likely be
> an �affordable� charge, not yet determined, for a credential. ...

This is not a new business model: you give away the razor and sell the 
blades. Or in this case you give away the course materials and sell the 
credential.

You are welcome to read the notes for my Green ICT course, but if you 
want to be tested you need to enrol with an institution which provides a 
system to check my assessment (you can choose from an Australian 
university, North American university or an internationally accredited 
version): http://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability/

> The certificate will not be a regular M.I.T. degree, but rather a
> credential bearing the name of a new not-for-profit body to be created
> within M.I.T ...

This is also not a new business model. As an example Oxford University 
has been offering online courses for years, using Moodle, but keeping 
these distinct from their degree programs: 
http://blog.tomw.net.au/2009/12/oxford-university-online-courses.html

Of course, there are also many universities which offer the same 
qualification to online students as to their on-campus students. An 
issue for institutions which differentiate between face-to-face and 
on-line courses, is what happens when research shows that the on-line 
courses are superior to their traditional on-campus ones?

My preference would be for blended learning to be the default: 
e-learning courses, supplemented by face-to-face classes where required 
(or where the student prefers it and they, or someone else, is willing 
to pay the extra cost).


-- 
Tom Worthington FACS CP, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia  http://www.tomw.net.au
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Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Research School of Computer Science,
Australian National University http://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7310/