Spurred by advances in technology and people’s hunger to get an extra edge in a down economy, universities and colleges are posting course materials – including syllabi, class notes, and lectures – online for anyone to access. This movement, known as OpenCourseWare, allows self learners to save money on tuition, gives alumni a link to their alma mater, and enables prospective students to peek into university classrooms.
Already more than 200 colleges and universities offer courses ranging from art history to economics for free on demand. The classes can be watched on YouTube or downloaded to iPods. And the consortium continues to grow…
The OpenCourseWare concept began in 2003. That year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology decided it couldn’t turn a profit from putting online its hands-on curriculum with an emphasis on laboratory work online. Instead, MIT began providing its syllabi, course notes, and eventually, video and audio lectures online for free. MIT’s OpenCourseWare initiative started by listing 500 courses in 2003. Even that first year the program attracted more than 4 million visits to its web pages.
But today, in less than a decade, the institution has archived 1,897 courses – and in April 2009 alone attracted more than 1 million visits.
[read more at OpenCourseWare: College education, without the student loans, from the Christian Science Monitor]
Showing posts with label Universities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Universities. Show all posts
March 28, 2009
The End of the College Computer Lab
The University of Virginia has decided to shut down its student computer labs and put the money to more productive uses, since 3,114 of 3,117 incoming students own their own computer.
Of those student-owned computers, 3,058 are laptops, with about 26% being Apples.
Compared to just a decade ago, the numbers are amazing. In 1997, 74% of incoming students owned computers, but only 16% were laptops, and 6.6% Apples.
The University is now trying to figure out how to provide things like community printers and specialized college software.
[via arstechnica]
Of those student-owned computers, 3,058 are laptops, with about 26% being Apples.
Compared to just a decade ago, the numbers are amazing. In 1997, 74% of incoming students owned computers, but only 16% were laptops, and 6.6% Apples.
The University is now trying to figure out how to provide things like community printers and specialized college software.
[via arstechnica]
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