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...move that highlights the potential of the Internet to change the way the world thinks about education, MIT announced last week that it was putting materials for its nearly 2,000 courses on the Web. The 10-year project, called MIT OpenCourseWare, would allow anyone, anywhere in the world, to read lecture notes, try problem sets and browse syllabi for any of MIT’s courses. We hope that MIT’s courageous decision will be copied by other universities—especially Harvard—for the sake of those who will be able to learn from...
...most immediate beneficiaries of MIT’s program will be those outside of Cambridge. By using OpenCourseWare, teachers can benefit from the expertise that has gone into crafting the MIT curriculum; education researchers can debate what topics should be included in standard courses; high-schoolers without access to quality instruction can download a syllabus and check out a textbook from a public library. Universities frequently spend millions in public-relations gestures to demonstrate the benefits they offer to the outside world; OpenCourseWare could be far more effective in promoting learning at far less cost...
Although some critics have charged that putting so much material on the Web for free compromises the value of an education at the trade school on the Charles, MIT plans to offer no credit to those who might peruse its material. We doubt that anyone will drop out of MIT (or choose not to apply) because they can now sit at home and read syllabi and lecture notes on the Web. Instead, MIT’s decision sets it apart from other universities, notably a coalition of Princeton, Stanford, Yale and Oxford, which last year announced a distance-learning program...
Such a substantial restructuring of Harvard’s Internet presence would not come without expenses. But the costs of such a program are far outweighed by the value of well-ordered, freely accessible knowledge. MIT has already gained much from the publicity surrounding its announcement, and those outside the MIT community have gained even more. Charging a fee—even a nominal one—to access the information would significantly decrease the number of people who would use it, and the loss would not be compensated by enough revenue to be significant to the world?...
...earned silver medals in defeat for the seventh consecutive time. The Russian National Team earned the bronze with a 2-1 upset over Finland earlier in the afternoon. The Russian team-which includes MIT women's hockey coach Katia Pashkevitch-finished well beyond expectations...