ICTworks

Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and many more top name universities are launching Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to hundreds, and hundred of thousands of students. Often prompted by entrepreneurial professors and private companies, the race is on to open up higher education to the online masses.

Yet university professors are already entering into a schizophrenic relationship with MOOCs –when polled, 79% believe MOOCs are worth the hype and yet only 28% believe students should get formal credit for them, suggesting that MOOCs may be reaching a peak of inflated expectations before dropping into a trough of disillusionment already filled with other edu-fads, like OLPC laptops, that were once promising but now just passé

That begs the question: What is the impact of MOOCs on education in the developing world?

• Do MOOCs offer massive opportunity to move past the limited physical constraints of the developing world’s universities? Could we see MOOCs break past even the online and distance education gains to become a paradigm shift in educating the youth bulge that is overwhelming formal educational structures?
• Or are MOOCs just the latest fad in moving from the tried and true in-person relationship between professor and student? Do they replace in-depth analysis and learning with superficial glances at complex topics? Will MOOCs dilute the university degree even more, reducing higher education to just another certificate of perseverance instead of an indicator of intelligence?

To help answer these questions and formulate a direction for MOOCs in development, please RSVP now to join your peers in a unique in-person discussion in Washington, DC, informed by educational technology luminaries, including:

• Paul Berman, Vice Provost for Online Learning, George Washington University
• Jamie Hodari, Generation Rwanda
• Nick Martin, Founder, TechChange
• Carlos Martinez, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of El Salvador
• Kentaro Toyama, Researcher, University of California, Berkeley

Joining them will be 40 experts in education, development, and technology for an in-depth discussion during a fast-paced morning-long agenda:

1. Overview and state-of-play lightning talks to set a common knowledge base
2. Intense discussion to debate use, identify opportunities, and find impact
3. Rapid brainstorming on solutions and tangible next steps

This event is in-person only, so RSVP now to attend.

About T-Rex Deep Dives

T-Rex is an interactive discussion series on technology for development hosted by the Center for Collaborative Technologies at IREX in partnership with Kurante.

We convene small groups of established experts to have critical and substantive discussions on the application and impact of new and emerging technology solutions and their relevance to international development.

Participants will gain new insights on current technology trends and gain practical insights they can apply immediately, and over the long term. RSVP now to join us!