Stanford University’s president predicts the death of the lecture hall as university education moves online
By Tekla S. Perry / May 2012
In a university, there is always a very small fraction of students who probably never need to come to class. They could just sit in their rooms, read the textbook, and they’re capable enough, focused enough, disciplined enough, and driven enough that they could be successful. But that’s a very small minority.
Likewise, there’s a small minority of students who could watch everything online, never talk to anybody else, never engage with an instructor, never engage with teaching assistants, and learn just fine. But again, that’s a very tiny minority.
In every complex system -- be it educational, economic, political, social or biological -- competition and cooperation must be effectively balanced. When competition becomes excessive, it becomes counterproductive.
The recent announcement that Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are cooperating to offer free online courses is a promising development. Much more needs to be done. In coming articles, I will describe how overspecialization renders much undergraduate schooling irrelevant, and how globalization and online education provide opportunities for rethinking higher education.