Online Courses Aren’t Actually Democratizing Education

blogs.smithsonianmag.com

1 point·footpath··2 comments

>>[...] 80 percent of MOOC students come from the wealthiest and most well educated 6 percent of the population,” the authors of the paper write.

What about the 20% that didn't have undergraduate degrees? No doubt there's a lot of skew here, but the focus should be on this 20% that (now) have the opportunity to take a variety of free online courses. Perhaps this 20% wouldn't have had a chance otherwise.

Otherwise, the article is right that MOOCs could expand their reach further, but I think this is a great start and optimistic news. If people thought that early-adopter MOOC audiences would be primarily comprised of non-degree holders then now would be a great time to re-examine assumptions.

Quite. Big-ticket schools have a lot of incentive & budget & momentum to promote big-ticket degrees. MOOCs just don't have the visibility, so those who tend to participate are already plugged in enough for awareness of such obscure options. 20% being "new students" is pretty good.

MOOCs also don't yet provide confidence for all-in degree-scale participation, so they appeal more to those looking to fill educational gaps instead of building their academic career thereon. High-school graduates just aren't ready to pursue MOOC degrees en masse; they will as momentum & reputation builds, but not yet.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com