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From Forbes... is social media shortening attention spans?

"To the catalog of financial stresses on higher education-the imminent explosion in online learning, cutbacks in state aid and weak endowments-you can add one more: tapped-out parents."

Coursera just raised $43m of funding - what potential do investors see in MOOCs? Based on recent Forbes article - do you see MOOCs as replacing parts of traditional higher ed? Will growing numbers of online students reduce hesitation of employers to hire online students? How does this affect institutions being proxies for quality? What applications are there for MOOCs beyond academic programs? (with interesting answer from Michael based on DS106)

"The University of Delaware employs a fleet of students to engage prospective applicants through social media. So-called "Social Media Ambassadors" are adorned with their own BlueHen Twitter accounts and are encouraged to share their student experiences online and talk to parents and students interested in the school."

The reason is that the top universities do not offer the best teaching and learning experiences. Instead, their faculty members are incentivized heavily to focus on research at the expense of teaching. If a professor seeking tenure at one of these institutions receives a teaching award, it is often said that that professor has just received the kiss of death for her tenure hopes. If students learn at these institutions, it's often not because the teaching is so good, but because the students are so talented that they can absorb anything thrown at them (and it's worth noting that just because a professor is entertaining, does not mean it's a good learning experience).

How will MOOCs Impact Higher Education?

"The jobs of the future are only "low skilled" if you define "low skilled" as not requiring college. Being a good carpenter (56% growth, Jesus is still with us) or, for that matter, a good medical secretary (41% growth), takes smarts (actual smarts, not just book smarts), hard work, and dedication."

"Rheingold writes that "only a fraction of those who have access to networked mind-amplifiers know how to use them convivially." I asked him if he could give a contemporary example of an online community whose members have a high degree of convivial literacy?  "Any disease support community is a place of deep bonds and empathy, and there are thousands if not tens of thousands of them," Rheingold replied."

"Every single company today is a technology company. Whether you are a mining organization looking at automated trucks, a real estate firm deploying an internal social network, a warehouse looking to leverage wearable devices, an agricultural company exploring the internet of things, or a hospital interested in teaming up with IBM Watson, every single company today is a technology company. Organization's must embrace this new way of thinking because when we look at the future of work, technology is one of the most disruptive factors that also yields the greatest opportunities."

"Employers report frustration at not finding skilled workers; and, according to the Manpower Growth 2012 Talent Shortage Survey, 49 percent of employers struggle to fill jobs. Jobs wait to be filled - current job seekers just lack the right skills."

If you haven't grown up with web navigation as the younger crew you're often competing with for jobs has, you need to pay attention. Naiveté can trip you up. A CareerBuilder survey says more than two in five hiring managers who currently research candidates via social media said they have found information that has caused them not to hire a candidate. Arrgh.

"We contend that the real issue - and the one that largely goes unaddressed - is that the majority of people who teach online are given virtually no assistance in learning how to teach online. Professional development for these instructors is limited to lunch 'n' learns, basic learning platform support, and other technology-related resources, but generally fails to expose instructors to the best techniques for online instruction."

"But if technology and the ability to be connected disappear further into the background, what will occupy our foreground? A bit of the humanity we've always valued in the "real world." Legislators who are currently fixated on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education as the key to innovation will realize that STEM needs some STEAM-some art in the equation. We'll witness a return to the integrity of craft, the humanity of authorship, and the rebalancing of our virtual and physical spaces. We'll see a 21st-century renaissance in arts- and design-centered approaches to making things, where you-the individual-will take center stage in culture and commerce."

"As a result, the tuition pricing at America's universities has evolved into something akin to a discount mattress retailer, though Graber's employer, a consultancy named Noel-Levitz, has come up with a more august name for it: "financial aid leveraging." Noel-Levitz might be the most influential force in higher education pricing that you've never heard of, empowering what's become a three-stage, market-distorting game for college administrators."

"Social media was not a part of the business landscape when most boomers and Gen Xers hit their stride. But today, regardless of role, industry or seniority, being social media savvy is a major advantage for both personal branding and for doing your job better. I work with a lot of senior executives whose social media errors needlessly work against them. Here are 9 of the most egregious."

"Automation is a difference in determining whether or not institutions merely dabble with badging vs. truly invest in a sustainable badging program that benefits the students."

"This symbiotic relationship between human teacher and computer seems to be the next frontier for education. No, cyborgs are not going to take over our classrooms. But in the very near future, teachers and AI computers may team up to provide stronger, better educational experiences for students at every level from primary school up to university."

"The program kicks off today with two curriculums, Business or Supply Chain Management for associate and bachelor's degrees with additional curriculums to follow at three non-profit universities: University of Florida which is ranked #17 in the nation for its business school by U.S. News and World Report, Brandman University and Bellevue University. The five-year long program will include what Carlson calls "having a personal coach for education" from the application process up through graduation."