TEL-lingit like IT is

An interesting, and brief story here on the subject of Coursera's new course format. Note in particular the first comment: "So much for the democratization of information, guess Coursera's investors have finally demanded their money back. Oh well least we still have edX." And, further news as the democratisation of online education starts to unravel in at least one online service ( Udemy ). As I've mentioned before , " my own view is that if MOOCs do actually survive the next few years it will be because they have morphed to become what we already know about effective distance education, done online ". MOOCs were the wrong starting point for online education, and if indeed "investors [are] finally demanded their money back" from the privately-funded Coursera this may well be the beginning of the unravelling. It's not easy to depart from free, particularly with a vast alternative supply available. I'm not optimistic...

I enjoyed the recent EDEN 2016 conference in Budapest immensely. It was great to connect with European ODL professionals, and an honour to be elected to the Executive Committee. As with all conferences, EDEN brought together a variety of perspectives and presentations that stimulate, inspire, and sometimes frustrate. Stimulation, inspiration and frustration are, for me, the hallmarks of an effective event! The place where these overlap provides a wonderful starting point for reflection. EDEN was also a wonderful opportunity to catch up with the “who’s who” of the ODL world and, of course, to sight-see the beautiful Budapest! No single photo could do this vibrant and picturesque city justice, least of all any of mine! So, back to the conference. Firstly, there was plenty to stimulate. Keynotes were very thought-provoking, and the various parallel sessions I intended were extremely worthwhile. There were (for me) two specific frustrations in the perspectives shared. One...