MOOCs

One of the most satisfying experiences I had in college was attending periodic evening lectures called "Battle Night". These were lectures given by a full professor of history whose hobby was studying great military battles throughout history. He was fascinated by this subject and gave these lectures, focusing on the opposing generals and their tactics as diagrammed on a blackboard, without compensation or recognition of any kind. His enthusiasm was contagious, and he always filled a lecture hall with undergrads, some of whom were notorious for cutting their regular classroom lectures. His talks on pivotal battles in history were never to be forgotten. I always wished my entire education could be this way and that it could continue all my life.

Today, thanks to the Internet, one of my lifelong wishes is actually coming to fruition, thanks to something relatively new known as Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. Some of our very best universities -- including Harvard, MIT, Columbia, and Stanford, to name a few-- have teamed up to make this vision a reality. You can sign up for course credit in certain cases, which will inevitably mean some tuition and testing, but the basic concept is "attendance" is free and open to all via your computer. Travel to a distant classroom at set hours will be unnecessary; it will be like Delta Airlines, which is ready when you are.

This system has the potential to galvanize learning in the less-developed areas of the world. It can also reduce the need to build costly brick-and-mortar buildings for classrooms. Significantly, both my sons went to prestigious research universities and discovered that, however brilliant a professor may be, it is no guarantee that he or she is an inspiring or effective teacher. In fact, from time to time they watched a professor from another institution online explain concepts that their professor failed to make clear in his classroom lectures.

For me, this innovation is exhilarating, as it affords me the opportunity for lifelong learning without cost(!) in subjects which I never got to or was too afraid to take, such as difficult but fascinating areas in science. Now I may get to hear lectures by some of the world's greatest and inspiring teachers. If my "Battle Nights" experience is any indication, and I think it is, I can't wait to get started.

Art history, physics, sociology, psychology, architecture, music and world history-- these are the fascinating areas that immediately come to mind. How great is this!!