Re:M.I.T. Plans College for Artificial Intelligence, Backed ...
by anonymous5133 on Wednesday October 17, 2018 @12:13AM
(#18236087)
I would say that most if not all subjects taught at the undergrad level can be implemented in online platforms. You can have in-person seminar courses for all the subjects that actually need hands on practice. Even in those situations, you can still have a significant impact by having simulations using AR/VR or similar. There is a lot of potential in this space that no one really taps into. I see some people doing x and others doing y. It is all good but there is no one doing a unified approach to this so it just ends up going no where. People want the whole picture, not bits and pieces.
Blended models have a lot of promise--at least in theory. My understanding is that post-pivot Udacity does some things along these lines. And, of course, there are more traditional degree programs that have a large online component.
One of the nice things about CS/programming is that, in many cases, you don't really need the physical resources of a university campus. And even if you can't handle 100% of a full degree program, "nanodegrees" and the like are a big win. It's also nice that computer systems can handle a lot of the grading of problem sets--and, as you say, it's not super-expensive to have TAs handle the rest. (Source: I remember what I was paid to be a grader for a few courses in grad school :-))