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I've taken a few courses through coursera, udacity, racked up points in khan and I've watched some videos from the MIT open source libraries, so the answer to "

by columbo 14y ago

I've taken a few courses through coursera, udacity, racked up points in khan and I've watched some videos from the MIT open source libraries, so the answer to "But what will that mean for traditional institutions?" is they will (hopefully) change dramatically. Imagine having 5,000 students all wanting a MSCS, each student writes out a check for only $20,000 ($5,000 year). So you have $100 million dollars at your disposal for the complete education... what sort of 'online system' could you create for $100 million? Not just video, not just lectures, hell you could make games, interactive puzzles, you could pay to tape some of the brightest minds in the field... and you could change it --every year--. You could offer a better experience for a fraction of the price that students pay today. edit: fixed confusion over 20k

mtgx 14y ago
This Note 10.1 video is pretty inspiring about how kids could learn in the future through games. I really like this idea of learning through games. I think it could be very effective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0krCDFLjdA&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0krCDFLjdA&feature=plcp
zanny 14y ago
Too bad 99% of student's don't have $20,000 a year lying around, it is why we have an imminent student loan bubble. The more likely scenario is a rapid freefall in education prices (a very good thing, I might add) to near 0, the implementation of global examinations for each grade level and course load rather than just the PSSAs / SAT / AP tests, and the usage of high quality lecture videos with Khan-style infinite question loops to learn material. And you definitely lose the traditional brick and mortar school buildings. They cost so much money when the alternative, aside the bickering about the quality of online learning vs traditional lecture halls, is orders of magnitude less expensive, and even government is subject to economics in the long run.
tomjen3 14y ago
If I was paying 20k/year that is in the same ballpark as a real university + I get all the other stuff, the experince, the connections, the friends, etc. You are more likely looking at 5k/year. At that price point it becomes a posibility for those who can't afford to quit their job and go to school but who still want to improve their life. Then, from there, you can grow the reputation of online school (which still have a huge stigma attached to it).
- deleted 14y ago
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f4stjack 14y ago
Should they? I mean standard lecture format is not a very effective medium. You have to have an uninterrupted concentration on the lecturer to understand the topic. But this rarely happens. You have to write, read the board and listen to teacher for understanding what is being said. I am not even going into the topic of feasibility, you have to pay the teacher, trust that he or she will be in her top condition. And you also have to go to the building for getting the lesson. As you've said, a better system could be built with less cost. And contrary to the popular opinion it would be better.

by columbo 14y ago

mtgx 14y ago

This Note 10.1 video is pretty inspiring about how kids could learn in the future through games. I really like this idea of learning through games. I think it could be very effective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0krCDFLjdA&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0krCDFLjdA&feature=plcp

zanny 14y ago

Too bad 99% of student's don't have $20,000 a year lying around, it is why we have an imminent student loan bubble. The more likely scenario is a rapid freefall in education prices (a very good thing, I might add) to near 0, the implementation of global examinations for each grade level and course load rather than just the PSSAs / SAT / AP tests, and the usage of high quality lecture videos with Khan-style infinite question loops to learn material. And you definitely lose the traditional brick and mortar school buildings. They cost so much money when the alternative, aside the bickering about the quality of online learning vs traditional lecture halls, is orders of magnitude less expensive, and even government is subject to economics in the long run.

tomjen3 14y ago

If I was paying 20k/year that is in the same ballpark as a real university + I get all the other stuff, the experince, the connections, the friends, etc. You are more likely looking at 5k/year. At that price point it becomes a posibility for those who can't afford to quit their job and go to school but who still want to improve their life. Then, from there, you can grow the reputation of online school (which still have a huge stigma attached to it).

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

f4stjack 14y ago

Should they? I mean standard lecture format is not a very effective medium. You have to have an uninterrupted concentration on the lecturer to understand the topic. But this rarely happens. You have to write, read the board and listen to teacher for understanding what is being said. I am not even going into the topic of feasibility, you have to pay the teacher, trust that he or she will be in her top condition. And you also have to go to the building for getting the lesson. As you've said, a better system could be built with less cost. And contrary to the popular opinion it would be better.