The Political Nature of MOOC’s
February 22, 2013 1 Comment
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/22/conservatives_declare_war_on_college/
It’s absolutely no accident that in Texas, Florida and Wisconsin, three of the most conservative governors in the country are leading the push to incorporate MOOCs in university curricula. And it seems well worth asking whether the apostles of disruption who have been warning academics that everything is about to change have paid enough attention to how the intersection of politics and MOOCs is affecting the speed and intensity of that change. Imagine if Napster had had the backing of the Heritage Foundation and House Republicans? It’s hard enough to survive chaotic disruption when it is a pure consequence of technological change. But when technological change suits the purposes of enemies looking to put a knife in your back, it’s almost impossible.
About kcbrady
These are the same people who are attempting to control children’s minds through revisionist textbooks. Don’t they realize that the Web makes this type of control almost impossible?
What the article made clear is that higher ed needs to find other forms of funding, such as creating a learning management system that makes sense to instructors and learners. Those left-leaning academics in humanities provide the brains behind the graphics and other art forms that are necessary to make online learning effective. So it is about time we pushed back and showed those in politics that it takes a community of believers, rather than naysayers, to make progress happen.
Robin