Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig, professors at Stanford University did an experiment by offering their Artificial Intelligence class CS221 online for free. They expected few thousands to sign up and that few thousands was close to 160,000.
Thrun prophesies that in about 50 years, the world will have about 10 global online universities offering higher education. They want their university, UDACITY – it’s a play on 2 words – audacious and university, to be one of them.
They recently held an online conference using Google Hangout where they invited Salman Khan of Khan Academy, about whom I have mentioned in one of my earlier blogs. It was an interesting conversation and listening to what I believe is shaping the future of the higher education.
I wonder if someone can bring the same enthusiasm and quality to school education – K12. The challenge is for lower grade levels; education for pre-k and for elementary school children . This opens a new argument all together, what should be taught at that level? How should it be taught? The impact of educating the children through an equally innovative method and style can have a bigger impact than the impact created by mass education through higher education.