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Awhile ago I posted a TED talk about the Khan academy, here's the link: http://hubski.com/pub?id=1911
Here is a new educational startup that was inspired by the Khan academy, its goal is to provide quality education to anyone who wants it (the Stanford professor who founded it gave up tenure to start it). I thinks its a great thing and, hopefully, it will add more momentum to education reform (and help you build a search engine, if you want): http://www.udacity.com/
lessismore · 4687 days ago · link ·
My nephew told me he is interested in getting into programming. This might be good for him to get started with. Who knows, he might create the next DDG.
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thenewgreen · 4687 days ago · link ·
I definitely see this as the wave of the future. I'm hard pressed to think of many degrees that couldn't be obtained through a distance learning approach. Why shouldn't these things be open sourced to everyone? President Obama just got done with his SOTU speech in which he emphasized the retraining of displaced workers, "Our unemployment offices need to be re-employment offices" he went on to talk about a partnership between community colleges and companies that need skilled labor. This sort of open sourced free education seems an obvious move. I hope it gets popular support and even government funding.
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I agree, I think it would be amazing if education was accessible to everyone. However I think one of the issues of 'free' education would be it's credibility professionally and among other academics. Personally, I don't think the particular institution you go to applies any more legitimacy than perhaps being self-taught, but not everyone shares my opinion.
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thenewgreen · 4686 days ago · link ·
I can't speak for academics but I think that in business, like sports, eventually its impossible to ignore someones abilities. There is no doubt that a degree from Harvard will likely put your achievements immediately in the spotlight while others may have to yell a bit louder to be heard but still, if your work is worth impressing upon people it will be seen. ....at least that's what I keep telling myself.
lessismore · 4687 days ago · link ·
A problem I can foresee is that people automatically place a value on a service based on how much they pay. Since these courses are free, those who enroll might not place as high a value on them and will not put in the necessary effort depending on the individual and their motivation. Sort of like working from home, some people absolutely thrive on it and some become complacent and easily distracted.
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thenewgreen · 4686 days ago · link ·
This gets to the root of what education really is. Is it a modality to a higher paycheck or is it the acquiring of knowledge for the sake of self betterment? I would argue that if one takes the second approach the money will be there, if you want it.