Quote:
Originally Posted by Quincy Lehr
MOOCs are, in the end, a way of undercutting already scarce academic jobs. Thanks a lot, Pinsky.
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This is actually a fascinating question, and it's one that gives me pause. Are we, through our exploration of academic technology (an exploration in which I've played some little part) destroying the very concept of The University? We always said we wanted to change, to transform, what a university is and how it works. But will we end by destroying it?
It's also been the subject of the great Intellectual Property fights of the past decade. For example, who owns your syllabus? 10-15 years ago, you would have. Now, at most places, the University does. Who owns the instructional materials that sit up on Blackboard? You may never have asked that question. I'm pretty sure you won't like the answer.
On the other hand, MOOCs are not the horrific threat they're made out to be. Yes, hundreds of students may sign up for a course, but often you can count the ones who finish on one hand. On the other hand, last semester, 11 million (yes, you read that right, 11,000,000) students took at least one course which was developed by
a textbook company, taught electronically, and graded by software. That's the real threat to the profession, and it's a clear and present danger, and it's growing by 10% a year.
The famous letter from San Jose State, protesting MOOCs, was heartbreaking. But while we were all wringing our hands, a cluster bomb was falling on our heads. Will there be Universities ten years from now? That 10% a year growth rate adds up fast, and it doesn't pay attention to romantic arguments about how much people love and need 'the university experience.' Are we the travel agents of the next decade? It's suddenly becoming a legitimate question, and it's one for which there is only a single answer.
Here's another example. When Kate got her Master's Degree, she had to be proficient in three foreign languages. That meant two semesters of university level instruction in each language. That kind of thing is the bread and butter of foreign language departments, it's what keeps them afloat, and funds their majors.
But guess what? There's a program online called Duolingo. It's kind of fun, she spends about 20 minutes a day on it. She's learning Spanish, because her parish is now mostly hispanic. They've done studies that say 36 hours on Duolingo are worth the equivalent of two years of university language instruction. And you can use the program to get your skills high enough so you can test out of those language requirements.
So it's goodbye, friendly neighborhood Modern Language department. Thus do we disassemble the university, brick by brick.
Thanks,
Bill