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Friday, June, 22, 2012

What MIT Should Have Done With MITx

MIT should have done much, much, more than it has with MITx, according to Dan Butin. What do you think? 

MIT could have done so much more. They should have done so much more. In fact, I want to suggest that there is indeed a real revolution in the making, but it has little to do with the size or scope of such MOOCs. Rather, what MITx has stumbled into is the opportunity to create a never-tiring, self-regulating, self-improving system that supports learning through formative on-demand feedback. Formative "just in time" feedback (rather than summative "end of course" testing) is the holy grail for learning theorists because it turns unidirectional teaching concerned mainly with delivering knowledge into a recursive guide and springboard for learning. If MIT had done that, they would have changed just about everything about how we think about higher education. But let's take it a step at a time.

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Friday, October, 15, 2010

The 'Gainful Employment' Battle

Jeff Wendt interviews Robert Tucker of InterEd, who says that - to him - it is seems that the Department of Education has decided that for-profits are an impediment. Tucker has some interesting ideas and perspectives.

[T]he flaws in the Department of Education's regulatory formulation are critical. ED's disclosures tell prospective students who are interested in certain applied degree programs that their degree, earned at a particular institution, is likely to land them the job they seek. However, they are told nothing about time and cost to degree. There is no mention of the opportunity costs of delays. There are no requirements for disclosure if the school is non-profit. Meanwhile, in addition to the possible outcome, does it matter what the buyer may want during the actual educational experience — facilities, amenities, fellowship and a host of other considerations? ...

A one-year delay to degree is typical among public colleges and universities. It can cost the student foregone earnings of say $40,000, plus extra tuition, plus possible additional downstream costs. Such transparent disclosures could eliminate the need for unintelligent regulation and expensive compliance. Since a consumer is likely to be shopping throughout the higher education marketplace for himself and family members, this disclosure, as well as all the others, should apply throughout the marketplace, regardless of the corporate charter of the education provider.

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