Full piece here.

More on MOOC’s, or Massive Online Open Courses:

‘Tyler Cowen, the George Mason University economist and co-founder of Marginal Revolution University, a popular massive online open course, has argued that U.S. higher education institutions already reach the easiest students to teach (the “low-hanging fruit”), and so efforts to expand higher education access means reaching students who either face serious obstacles to graduating or who are otherwise less inclined to stick around.’

and:

‘I have no doubt that online education is going to get better over time, and that innovators at places like edX and Udacity will find ways to better combine labor and technology in ways that will help contain higher education costs. But we shouldn’t expect miracles. Somehow we need to come up with better ways of engaging the large number of young Americans who aren’t destined to complete a bachelor’s degree, and who might need less in the way of help and hassle when they’re being offered real-world, job-specific skills. Until then, be very skeptical of anyone who promises that online education is going to make it much cheaper to educate struggling students.’

No easy fixes?

Some people learn much more quickly than others, and some have learned how to learn.  Some are dedicated and driven, and some have not ever put forth much effort.  Some have specific natural aptitudes and some simply don’t, while others have aptitudes that they’ve already developed by the time they reach a learning environment.  A few may have aptitudes they didn’t know they had.

A lot of people will need some sort of knowledge or certification right now.  A lot of people will need to learn more about a subject for their jobs on someone’s dime with skin in the game, which is often a challenge for good teachers.   This is why I don’t think free-market solutions will entirely work for education, but could help break the logjam of entrenched interests, inefficiency, and waste in our public education system, and help with the rising costs of higher ed and the unsustainable student-loan debt.

Technology won’t be a panacea, but I still think some of the core education mission is technologically portable enough to shake up the old model.  That’s the hope anyways.

Related On This Site: Update And Repost-Mark Cuban From His Blog: ‘The Coming Meltdown in College Education & Why The Economy Won’t Get Better Any Time Soon’…Diane Ravitch At Education Week: ‘Why Michelle Rhee and Adrian Fenty Lost’

Analagous to old media? What to change and what to keep: From The Arnoldian Project: ‘Architecture, Campus, And Learning To Become’

Should you get a college degree, probably, but you also probably shouldn’t lose sight of why you’re going and divorce yourself entirely from the cost:  Gene Expression On Charles Murray: Does College Really Pay Off?…Charles Murray In The New Criterion: The Age Of Educational Romanticism…