• Open Courses meet economic reality

    Oct 28.09 | Learn   

    From the Chronicle of Higher Education to Popular Science writers are exploring the future and place for OpenCourseWare.  The Chronicle reviews the ongoing costs, and that with budget cuts continued funding for open courses is tough.  Popular Science is writing from the perspective of an interested adult learner, wondering how interesting the courses are.  The conclusions from both perspectives indicate that the opencourseware movement is still trying to find its way.  And I think that until opencourseware initiatives are integrated into the core activities of universities and colleges, their future and purpose will remain uncertain.

    Look at the standard web 2.o model — give away something that doesn’t cost you much, hook in users, and offer higher levels of service for a price.  Who are the primary audiences at a traditional college?  Current student and faculty.  If opencourseware efforts are not FIRST serving their needs, then why bother?  For instance:

    1. Have a professor record 1/3 of their lectures for a standard course every year.  Over time students will watch 2/3rd of their lectures on-line, and 1/3 live with the professor.  The other course sessions will be devoted to detailed discussion about the lectures or active-learning/group work on class topics (less lecture, more engagement for students).   The lectures are posted on-line, with a process that insures content is updated on a 3 year basis.
    2. Create enhanced versions of the recorded lectures that include bookmarks, outlines of course content, dedicated/close-up views of class notes/powerpoint slides or blackboard diagrams, etc.  Graduate students or teaching assistants can create the content.  Again current students get these versions, but on-line visitors need to pay a premium or only can view the unedited/un-enhanced versions of the lectures.
    3. Offer a ‘clipping service’ where users can cut a piece of a lecture and makes on-line notes on it.  And let them share those notes/clips.  For free let them create something like a maximum of 5 clips per month (or maybe 3 clips per class.)  At a paid price they can do as many as they want and view what other students have posted (if the students flagged it as shareable.)  Again, current on-campus students get these premium features as part of their regular services.

    Opencourseware needs to be at the center of the organization’s sweet spot.  While these programs remain a side show they will always be vulnerable to cancellation as funding cuts and new funding priorities come up.  Build them into the core services offered to current students and they will continue to grow, enhancing the on-campus teaching environment and  continuing to enrich off campus audiences as well.

    Free Online Courses, at a Very High Price – Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education

    “With the economic downturn, I think it will be a couple of years before Yale or other institutions are likely to be able to make substantial investments in building out a digital course catalog,” says Linda K. Lorimer, vice president and secretary at Yale, which is publishing a 36-class, greatest-hits-style video set called Open Yale Courses.

    How Much Can You Really Learn With a Free Online Education? | Popular Science

    The world’s most prestigious universities have begun posting entire curricula on the Web—for free. Is there such a thing as a free higher-education lunch? I enrolled to find out

    Students Find Free Online Lectures Better Than What They’re Paying For – Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education

    Some students say they prefer the free videotaped lectures to the live lectures they are paying for at their own institutions. Others say they use the online talks to focus on topics they didn’t quite get when they first heard them in their own courses. And some high-school students use them to get a jump on material they will encounter when they get to college.

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    • Author: Randy

    In my day job I serve as Information Technology Director for the Yale School of Drama. Otherwise I garden, play guitar, build stuff out of wood, take photos, play around with technology and have been blogging since 2003.

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Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!

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