Future of Education

Courses provided from top universities like Duke and Stanford that you can take for free.

 Is there such a thing? I came across this term MOOC - massive open online courses. And the concept sounds like a dream. One such example of these massive learning online courses is called Coursera, which a lot of top colleges in the United States and abroad are experimenting with. High quality videos combined with deadlined assignments and quizzes makes Coursera a viable option for people who just want to learn, without a requirement for anything else. In traditional colleges, note all the stigma of registering for certain questionable-sounding classes (i.e. Women sexuality, drugs and society) and the how colleges charge you for dropping a class late. 

Once upon a time, people worried about not being able to afford good education for their children. Education was hard to obtain for the poor, the immigrants, and the people in developing countries. What about nowadays where virtually anyone has access to a computer and an internet? I think there is now a bunch of resources that people provide for free that we are not making enough use of. Because of the internet, that is over-saturated with information, internet users are having a difficult time focusing on the free educational videos and resources avaliable, but instead on entertainment such as cat videos on Youtube and social networking sites like Facebook. There is a way to not fail classes and the decision is within our control and ambitions. First there was Khan Academy, and now there is Coursera. Not to mention the vast array of informative videos you can find on youtube. Those sites are like treasure troves. But where the pirates at?

Coursera seems like a pretty darn good way to sample your way to your future major. You ask an 18 year old what he or she wants to do for the rest of her life. Why do you think she chooses "Business"? It could simply be because the word sounds professional and there seems to not be mathematical differentiation involved? (or of course it could mean that she's pursuing something she's always wanted to do) Because it would be nice to arrive to the office clad in business suits? Not everyone will have a clear cut goal for life set when they turn a certain magical age. That's why I think it is important for a young person to explore the opportunities.

Although Coursera and other MOOCs are still in their experimental stages in the educational realm, these mass online courses might just be in the future of mainstream education. So here I throw you a question: what will the future of education look like? Do you think MOOCs can replace our learning institutions (i.e. physical colleges) one day? More educational materials are going to be available for the public, that's one thing for sure. It depends on you if you want to take it to the next level.