EDUCATION VOL.1, NO6 – DAPHNE KOLLER: WHAT WE’RE LEARNING FROM ONLINE EDUCATION

According to Joshua Cooper Ramo in his book The Age of the Unthinkable, we have reached a point in time where our largest institutions will have to yield to new ideas or literally risk collapse. The paradigm shift away from educational maladaptation begins with ready access to information, and will be completed by content-driven technology and new systems for accreditation and certification that deliver person-centered programs.

What is ‘suddenly possible’, says Daphne Koller, one of the cofounders of Coursera.com, is an ability to expose the best quality education to everyone. This idea, which I acknowledge is in its infancy, implies that with dedication and a modicum of budget, incredibly valuable training may soon become freely abundant and form the basis for new models. Any family, any neighborhood, any community can participate at any time, now and into the future.

Is online training for everyone? No. The local deliveryman will still be the local deliveryman and likely not invest time in online learning. But what if, through online learning, there were simple certificates to take that position to new levels? Through online learning and career SOLEs we can imagine certificates in fleet management, dispatch expertise, fleet insurance assessments, certification in GPS utilization and so on. Might the future applicant for the position of deliveryman, carrying these kinds of certificates, have an advantage? Think about it while you watch this video.