How Web-Savvy Edupunks Are Transforming American Higher Education

I co-founded (and since left) eduFire, one of the companies mentioned in the sidebar to this article:

http://origin-www.fastcompany.com/magazine/138/5-startups-to...

It's amazing to see how many people have become aware of the massive opportunity to revolutionize education since we started eduFire in Jan 07. In 07, the institutions weren't going to innovate, most VCs (esp Bay area folks) had no idea about the size of the edu opportunity or customer willingness to pay.

Two years later we've got USV's hackedu conference, articles in FC, edu reform making the national agenda, and all kinds of interesting edu companies being funded. Interesting times!

Seems like the most important aspect of higher education from a student's perspective is the community you build while you are there. Nothing stimulates thought like being surrounded by intelligent, motivated individuals.

Social interaction over the internet is becoming richer, and surely it will play a vital role in changing the face of education. My fear is that the credentials-based hiring practices that are rampant among employers will pervert what could otherwise be a useful extension of quality education to the masses.

How is "open content" more revolutionary than textbooks? In other words, why hasn't e.g. the widespread availability of math textbooks lead to a revolution in math education, putting price pressure on a math degree from, say, Harvard or U. Chicago?