Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Udacity's latest word on MOOCs, reported first by Economic Times in India: "Our mission is to bring relevant education which advances people in careers and socio-economic activities, and MOOCs aren't the way." I don't think that's an accurate statement of Udacity's mission. I think that what drives the company is investor demands for profits. Really, I don't know why for-profit companies bother with a mission statement that says anything else, because we all know that they're in it for the money, nothing else - that's not a criticism, just a statement of fact. But Udacity's not having it. "It's not a comment on our business model, but on what we aim for as success metrics with our students... As you can see on our site, free content is still available." Henry Kronk points out (accurately) that "MOOCs are not dead." Inside Higher Ed's John Warner wonders, "Udacity was truly limited by its failure to impact a marketplace. Adaptive software has a much more welcoming host. How much money will be wasted on this latest fad?"

Today: 1056 Total: 1058 [Direct link] [Share]


Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2024
Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 12:56 p.m.

Canadian Flag Creative Commons License.

Force:yes