Evolving Higher Ed
Higher ed is evolving in the face of both technology and diverse professional fields. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are new and exciting yet many criticize them. One reason is for the lack of completion and accreditation. We are close to creating online learning platforms like MOOCs that colleges will accept for credit. This is shown even here in Oklahoma with Janux, a platform used by the University of Oklahoma. There are many reason why this will be more successful than an average MOOC class. The base of Janux is social learning. When we have a community to learn with we are more motivated to complete the course. Another change in higher ed will be the alternative routes such as Thiel Fellowship, Enstitute, Watson University, and more. We are on the beginning of a change yet it has not been widely accepted. The students going through these programs are trail blazers and we have yet to see what the after effects fully are in this case. Over time, people will become more accepting. I do support that they are not fully developed yet but that is the beauty of it they are forming and change is occurring. A third change that will happen is the blurred lines between degrees. There will be more chances to venture out of your strict degree plan. I want to be in educational technology. I am taking education classes to help better understand teachers and school. My advisor thought I was crazy for doing this. Another example, I want to learn design for programming yet we are not encouraged to take art classes or Photoshop or anything like that. At places like Stanford, this type of intermingling would be encouraged. Yet, other colleges are slower to this change.