A letter to President Obama about MOOCs and higher education, from his council of advisors on science and technology. This was released just a couple of days ago and highlights some of the potential benefits and current issues in the ongoing MOOC debate which we have all discussed.
"Although the new technologies introduced by MOOCs are still in their infancy, and many questions and challenges remain, we believe that
they hold the possibility of transforming education at all levels by providing better metrics for educational outcomes, and better alignment of incentives for innovation in pedagogy."
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) just released a new report arguing for changes in the metrics used to measure the quality of online learning. Like the Innosight Institute piece we read a few weeks ago advocates, they're advocating a shift from measuring inputs to tracking outcomes and making sure those outcomes are objective.