Fortnightly Mailing

Why give a course away online for free?

Rhodri Marsden asks in the 12/9/2011 Independent why Stanford University is "giving away a course online at no cost".

Marsden's piece is wide-ranging, and it draws on the knowhow of several people in UK HE, including Nial Sclater and Susanah Quinsee.

But it was filed some time ago¹: if Rhodri had done a bit more digging at the time, the possibility that Stanford or an associated business might be looking to pilot a delivery method for future commercial or revenue-generating use might not have escaped him.

Some quick observations:

RIP Michael S Hart

Image source

9 September 2011

RIP Michael S Hart (who founded http://www.gutenberg.org/, in effect inventing eBooks). Gregory Newby's obituary will make you think, and hopefully donate to Project Gutenberg.

[Added 16 September 2011]

You may also want to read Martin Childs's full and fullsome obituary in the Independent.

Many pieces loosely joined - the Scottish Government's interesting take on technology in learning

This short talk by Michael Russell MSP - published on 8 September - is definitely not a run-of-the-mill perspective on technology enhanced learning:

The Norvig/Thrun/Stanford free online AI course: more transparency needed concerning the relationship between Stanford University and KnowLabs

(Other posts tagged ai-course.)

Peter E. Murray pulls together several related comments and questions about the relationship between Stanford University and KnowLabs, the "angel-funded" start-up that is closely associated with the free online course that has attracted mass-attention (and mass enrolments) in recent weeks.

Know Labs - looking to "change the future of education by making it more accessible and less expensive"

(Other posts tagged ai-course.)

Know Labs is the Silicon Valley start-up behind the Thrun/Norvig/Stanford artificial intelligence course:

"We're a Silicon Valley-based startup looking to change the future of education by making it more accessible and less expensive. We provide a high-quality online learning experience using interactive videos, intelligent software, mobile apps, and the social web.  Our initial launch is online this fall: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, taught by Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig in partnership with the Stanford University School of Engineering. The class is open to everyone at ai-class.com and is run by the technology we are developing for a larger site: know it."

What interests me is whether Know Labs was already involved (or even there?) when the AI course was originally advertised, or whether the scale of the response either led to the formation of the start-up, or brought it into involvement with Stanford.

See also:

• Over 200,000 people have signed up for the three free Stanford University online courses
• Questions about the AI course

Many lessons to be learned from Finland's National Plan for Educational use of ICT

Finland's school system is held up in the UK as a system to emulate, and it is often portrayed - wrongly - as one that works without much central intervention.

This well thought out, costed, comprehensive, thoroughly referenced, and just plain sensible five year National Plan [1.15 MB PDF] was over 2 years in the making, and looks like it has drawn upon a wide enough range of interests and expertises to be taken seriously.

The plan summarises, in simple language (correction - the English is simple enough to make one believe the Finnish will have been extremely clear accessible) eight areas for action, with cost estimates for each between 2011 and 2015.

1. National objectives and systemic change
2. Learners’ future skills
3. Pedagogical models and practices
4. E-learning materials and applications
5. School infrastructure, learning facilities, purchases and support services
6. Teacher identity, teacher training and pedagogical expertise
7. Operational culture and leadership at school
8. Business and network co-operation

I hope it is not too late in the English Department for Education's rethinking of the National Curriculum, for the wisdom in the parts of the this Finnish document that relate to the schools curriculum to be drawn upon.