Likewise, the current opposition to massive open online courses (or MOOCs) has nothing to do with technophobia. Rather, it is driven by concerns about our ability to imagine and defend a future where education is still seen as a public good that is not fully reducible to market relations. Silicon Valley – and many neoliberals – see the university as a giant waste of resources. The schooling is too long, too expensive, and promotes all sorts of dangerous (read: useless) ideas that are not needed in the marketplace. And the skills that you do need – well, those you can get online, via a series of videos. Most universities would probably not fail immediately. Many of them, having fallen for the blurry MOOC vision, will stay afloat and embrace self-denial. But for how long? We know what the unhealthy fascination with pageviews has done to the quality of journalism; do we want the same fate to befall education? If so, you can wave goodbye to courses on Latin or the history of astronomy; your only choices would be law, engineering and finance.
Ghosts in the Machines (via azspot)