For anyone who has ever dreamed of studying at Stanford, the university announced good news this week: Stanford professors were the recipients of grants to expand the use of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to extend Stanford classes to students around the world.
The grants, from the office of the Vice Provost for Online Learning, offers the ability to create course material and plan methodology, which can pave the way for the online learning of the future.
Stanford announced the grants for some 14 Stanford professors, who will have the opportunity to create their own Internet-based curriculum with the funds. Some of the recipients include Rafe Mazzeo, a professor of mathematics, who hopes the grant will help his current students as well as make basic math classes more accessible for high school student prep.
Larry Diamond, a sociologist, also received grant money based on his proposal to teach his courses online so that students across the globe can benefit, while teaching Stanford students to be leaders in the discussions, as well.
The grant money is modest – most educators received $25K for their proposals, some to be spread around in teams and groups. Still, it’s a landmark spending decision for the prestigious university, which hopes to be a worldwide leader in accessible education and online learning. Most of the proposals are aimed at making learning easier for existing Stanford students, but they’ll benefit a global audience, as well. Some of the course material will be centered on freeing up time for hands-on learning, while other courses will be built around lectures and discussions for the general public.
Other institutions are following suit with their own online learning programs and MOOCs. MIT and Harvard announced MOOC funding, while Stanford professor of artificial intelligence Sebastian Thrun left the school to launch his own startup, Udacity – a website devoted to free online courses, lectures and materials.
It’s all movement toward a new school of thought: global, accessible learning for the masses funded by the same brick-and-mortar institutions that were once under siege by the threat of online education.
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