I don't doubt that at all, IrishJohn. When I first posted on Dr. Thrun and Udacity somewhere else, one of the "Old Guard" opined that reliable evaluation of learning, i.e. testing etc. from a MOOC was nonexistent at that point, and very likely impossible to achieve. Well, from what I've read, most MOOC providers seem to have that problem pretty well licked from the get-go. 
I thought that true or not, (and I don't think it is true) the "Kardashian" comparison was one of the best zingers I'd heard. MOOCS have attracted a lot of scholarly attention and research -- something I don't think the Kardashians have done! Dr Thrun's Udacity says it has been growing "faster than Facebook." That's OK, as long as it's better than Facebook! And it is - no doubt of that.
Another zinger I read, applied to MOOCS was "When college is free, it will be worth nothing." As I see it, learning itself has an inherent value. The cost may go down, up or sideways, but the value does not necessarily follow the cost.
Johann
I thought that true or not, (and I don't think it is true) the "Kardashian" comparison was one of the best zingers I'd heard. MOOCS have attracted a lot of scholarly attention and research -- something I don't think the Kardashians have done! Dr Thrun's Udacity says it has been growing "faster than Facebook." That's OK, as long as it's better than Facebook! And it is - no doubt of that.
Another zinger I read, applied to MOOCS was "When college is free, it will be worth nothing." As I see it, learning itself has an inherent value. The cost may go down, up or sideways, but the value does not necessarily follow the cost.
Johann
![[-]](https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/images/collapse.png)