MIT’s new learning platform points to future of higher ed - Boston Globe Editorial

MIT has made course materials available over the Internet for a decade. But MITx is far more ambitious; the institute describes it as an “interactive online learning platform’’ that will complement the classroom and lab experience for traditional residential students, while also creating new options for people around the world. Under the initiative, those who demonstrate mastery of material covered in MIT courses could obtain a certificate, which they can then show to employers and others. The institute could reinforce its image - and potentially create new revenues through fees that it could reinvest in academics. Meanwhile, MITx also represents an important milestone for distance learning, an idea once seen mainly as a mere substitute for face-to-face education but has promise all its own.... Such developments offer all the more reason for local institutions not to take their current success for granted - and for Boston-area universities to be at the forefront of reinventing the region’s signature industry.