It doesn’t surprise me that universities and other institutions of higher education are pursuing strategies and projects to bring the courses, curriculum, and programs from their on-campus settings to the Internet.  As someone who has engaged in on-line learning – taking credited courses in topics such as cognition and ethics in educational technology – I’m not surprised by this topic, but it is certainly interested to see not only how and where online learning stand in higher ed, but that may mean for other areas of learning (e.g. corporate training).

Perhaps, though, it challenges some current perceptions of higher education (and education, in general) and the sorts of practices that both learners and instructors/teachers/other educational professionals engage and participate.  I remember the perplexity and confusion that rose from M.I.T.’s announcement of their Open CourseWare project.  The thought of posting curriculum and courses for free, enabling individuals from all over the world to access content and information from such a prestigious and arguably, exclusive, institution – what does that mean?  Would people even bother to pay and physically attend a college anymore?  Obviously, this project has not made M.I.T. seem any less desirable for thousands of prospective students each year, but it does bring up some interesting considerations.

Still, how does the Internet and open learning impact, influence, and inform the kinds of ideas we have on learning, information and knowledge acquisition, and content creation?  In a broader, perhaps more far-reaching scale, how does this entire process impact the lives and livelihoods from social and economic perspective?  I’m only in the beginning of this conversation, but I welcome the opportunity to probe further at how the changes in the educational arena will, can, and are currently impacting our world.

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