MOOC followup

Very briefly, here is an open letter by the San Jose State University philosophy department regarding MOOCs (one in particular).   Food for thought.

update:  my colleague Moshe Vardi pointed out his own editorial on this topic.

I don't agree with everything in either of these documents.  I do think it's worth thinking hard about the purpose of MOOCs.  Are they about idealistically providing access to fantastic educational opportunities at very low cost to the student for millions of potential pupils who have an internet connection?  Are they about cynically slashing the operating costs of universities by restructuring the educational experience and potentially eliminating large numbers of faculty jobs?  These are not mutually exclusive.