For a while I have been thinking, planning, researching the prospect of launching an online education business. It is a real challenge to determine the right business model in the massive sea of other online education, training and eLearning sites. I know there are opportunities, I'll keep thinking.
Recently The Obama government announced a program to develop free online courses at American community colleges.
U.S. Push for Free Online Courses
In fact, now there are a vast array of free online learning resources - either courses or even textbooks.
More than 100 free places to learn online and counting
The question is: Are they being used? Well, really, there are an array of questions: Are they being used? By whom? How? Are they used only by those who have access? How long will it take for a shift (if it happens) toward these free resources and How will this change 'formal' education?
You can learn for free now: go to a library.
You can explore a vast array of information and knowledge: use the Internet
Need to learn a process?: Watch a "how to" video on YouTube
Thousands of parents who do not like the public school system have opted to "home school" [Home Based Learning] their children
What role does formal education fulfill? What was it's purpose in the first place and where is it going? Are schools fast becoming outdated?
Well, before we consider this, we need to think about the role of formal education.
This is a topic to be explored in future posts.
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