Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Yale to Offer Videos of Courses

This article on CNN.com reports that Yale is planning to offer digital videos of its courses online for free:

Yale University said on Wednesday it will offer digital videos of some courses on the Internet for free, along with transcripts in several languages, in an effort to make the elite private school more accessible.

While Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others already offer course material online without charge, Yale is the first to focus on free video lectures, the New Haven, Connecticut-based school said.

The 18-month pilot project will provide videos, syllabi and transcripts for seven courses beginning in the 2007 academic year. They include "Introduction to the Old Testament," "Fundamentals of Physics" and "Introduction to Political Philosophy."

The courses cannot be counted toward a Yale degree, and educators say they are no substitute for actual teaching.

What do you think about this plan? Is it smart on Yale's part or are they giving people a free ride without having to pay the high tuition?

(Source: Greg Mankiw's Blog)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Right when i read this article i was instantly reminded of something. I've been training for the SAT for a few months and my final battle with it is in October, but i was doing a practice section that read about music pirating. The article gave the example of the Grateful Dead who much like Yale allowed fans to record their live shows for free. The outcome of this was that the Dead actually became more famous and more people came to their shows. I think by Yale allowing free classes to be shown online Yale will not suffer. I think the free classes on line with be publicity for Yale becuase now alot of people will be able to feel like they can understand an Ivy League education. The outcome of this is possible that people who are prospective students who were intimdated by Yale's reputation may see these videos and feel as though they can survive at Yale. Thus the prospective students will apply with their $50 check, get rejeced anyways, but Yale will have made some more money off of the prospective students. However I do not believe that as a valid reason for a prestigous school like Yale to post their classes on line. Maybe the real answer is that they genuinley want to become more well known...no strings attached

Anonymous said...

sorry that one was by seth weiland

Anonymous said...

I think posting videos of classes online could be a bad thing for Yale. The possibility that it would create publicity for the school is not very high because almost everyone thinking about attending college in the United States has heard something about Yale and almost all the ivy-leagues. On the other hand people who watch the online class somewhere not in the Northeast will probably not be motivated enough by the video to go to school at Yale because most of the people who are watching the video online are probably not going to be able to afford the cost of going to an ivy-league. Maybe Yale wants to be known as a promoter of higher-learning in the United States and wants to increase the overall knowledge of the world.
-Chip

Anonymous said...

I think it is a good plan for Yale to offer. These programs will not substitute for real classes, like the article says, but it might peak the interest of a perspective student. This shows that Yale is committed to innovative new ways of teaching. I do not believe that it will hurt Yale financially. It will most likely help Yale because it will draw more applicants to its college and some people might be willing to donate money to support this program. I do not think that a lot of people will be using this service but it is neat that it is offered.

-Brian Meier

Anonymous said...

I agree with Brian. The only thing that this can help is the publicity of the school. With the USNews rankings, everyone is trying to find that edge to publicize their school as the best, and what better way than to appeal to the people and more importantly the prospective students? These video lectures do not mean that someone could skip the college experience itself and recieve the same degree; but what it does mean is that people who are interested in this school are able to see with their eyes a small sample of what the academic life at Yale would be like. Many very bright students are able to see first hand just what it might be like coming in freshman year at Yale. I like the idea Yale has brought to the table.

-Nick Wellmon

Anonymous said...

I think this is a good idea for Yale. Especially with the tuition at $46,000, it is an extremely expensive college for the average american to attend. These online classes are a good thing because it will educate people that can't afford actually going to the college. It is smart on their part to not allow these classes to be counted towards a degree because in that case Yale would just be losing money. But, if they do these classes solely for the purpose of publicity, and helping to educate people that can't afford Yale, it is a very good idea.
-Hope

Anonymous said...

As far as publicity goes, I would agree with Nick and Brian and say that the introduction of the online videos of courses could only have a benefit on the publicity of Yale University. It might also give prospective students a good idea of what to expect from the curriculum at Yale, and could be especially beneficial for those prospective students who plan to major in the fields of the courses that will be posted online. As far as the claim that it gives people the free ride goes, I'm going to go ahead and shoot that down. People pay $46,000 a year to walk away with the diploma that says Yale University on it, which ultimately opens them to a wide variety of job opportunities. If I were trying to get a job at a renowned company, I don't think putting the fact that I watched some online courses from Yale would help my chances very much. Sure, I might actually be more knowledgable, but I don't really think that I would be getting a free ride.
PEACE
-Tanner

Anonymous said...

I agree with Brian and Nick. This plan will definately help with Yale's publicity. Not only that, but prespective students can get an actual idea of what classes would be like. Maybe the videos will show that the classes aren't as intimidating as most people would think of Ivy League education. Hope mentions that since Yale cost about $46,000 a year, students who can't afford Yale can learn from the online videos. It is also a good thing that Yale doens't allow these online classes to count toward a degree. That would probably hurt Yale. Other than that, I think that these online videos, overall, would be a good thing.
-Morgan Hale

Anonymous said...

When I first read this it really made me think about the impact technology is going to be making in our education in the future. It started with computers and projectors moved to smart boards and our little pods and now it seems to be going towards online classes. Obviously this will make it easier for people to get a glimpse at an Ivy League education, and for some people this is the closest they can ever get. I think it is a really neat idea that they are adding onto the trend started by MIT and Princeton by making video lectures instead of just course material. I agree with the article that nothing can actually make up for having a real teacher, but it could still help to get people’s minds going. It is fair that watching them doesn’t count towards a degree at Yale, but I do not know how many college students would really want to take advantage of it. Those who are already in college are probably busy enough with going to class, doing homework, and having social lives. Those who are not in college are probably busy working or not interested with this extra learning in the first place. This is a generalization, but I think for the most part it is true, maybe with the exception of lower income adults who are interested in learning but cannot afford college or have too high of an opportunity cost with their time to go to college. I definitely don’t think it is a free ride because these people don’t get the bragging rights of going to Yale or end up with a diploma. It can not hurt Yale, but will probably help, like others above mentioned, with their publicity.
-Natalie H

Anonymous said...

A couple people kind of stated this fact but no one actually explained it. Many students that are going off to college have no idea of what they want to do or even what field of work they are interested in. Due to these video lectures and classes online, many potential students will get a chance to try out each class and see what really interests them. The only problem i see with this is for the Actual college, Yale. If you think about it, many students stay at college longer than a usual college career due to switching of majors, etc. When students get to try out the classes online and see which one is best for them before they even have to choose a major, the college will lose out on the money that they gain from the extra years of college from the people who cannot make up their minds about their majors.

Ryan S.