The end of the University as we know it...

This article from Slate caught my eye. It argues that the Internet will do to Universities and Colleges what it has done to the Cap Times and the rest of the newspaper business:

It is hard to predict the precise pace of change—but it’s possible that within 15 years most college credits will come from classes taken online. In 2007, nearly 4 million students took at least one online course, and the numbers are growing. Within a generation, college will be a mostly virtual experience for the average student. The Ivies will be much less affected than the mid-tier and local schools. But colleges that depend on tuition, and have no special brand, will be hit hard. The recession will accelerate this trend, as students become warier of taking on loans, and state schools experiment after fund cuts. This doesn’t just mean a different way of learning: The funding of academic research, the culture of the academy, and the institution of tenure are all threatened.

It is clear that the access to content that the Internet allows will revolutionize all the information based segments of the economy. I think the future will see the same effect in K-12 education as well- we now live in a world where there is the potential for every student to have access to the best content on any subject produced anywhere in the world. How this will play out I don't know, but it would be a mistake not to embrace the technology where ever it allows us to be more effective and focus on student outcomes.