Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The MOOC bubble and the attack on public education

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

"MOOCs are a speculative bubble," writes Aaron Bady, "a product being pumped up and overvalued by pro-business government support and a lot of hot air in the media." It's tempting to describe MMOCs as a bubble, but not all things are bubbles. What we're seeing recently is that the term and concept of 'MOOC' has functioned as a market strategy that will leverage longer term investments in educational publishing. But I do agree, MOOCs (as conceived by Silicon Valley investors) are an attack on public education - but that just makes them the caboose in a long train of similar attacks (comprehensing everything from vouchers to charter schoolss to Universitas 21). View more (much more) from the current issue of Academic Matters.

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

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Last Updated: Apr 19, 2024 08:55 a.m.

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