Friday 7 February 2014

Economics of MOOCs

Interesting (but incorrect I feel) look at the economics of MOOCs in The Economist by an Economist with money to make out of MOOCs.
"the most salient feature of the online course is its rock-bottom marginal cost: teaching additional students is virtually free. The fixed cost of creating an online course is relatively high, however. Getting started means putting together a curriculum, producing written and recorded material to explain it, and creating an interactive site that facilitates discussion and feedback." says,  Alex Tabarrok, an economist at George Mason University and co-founder of an online-education site, Marginal Revolution University. http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21595901-rise-online-instruction-will-upend-economics-higher-education-massive

That sounds more like what we would describe as an online course and rather misses the point of the open and connected nature of study.
"The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.", George Siemens 2004. http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
There are plenty of pedlars of content out there it would be good to hear from more teachers building communities for people that learn what they want to learn in a way that suits them best.