Thanks for posting these articles. I didn't see or get a chance to read them earlier.
I believe we're on the cusp of a renaissance, the likes of which we have never witnessed before. MITx, Yalex, Carnegie Mellonx, and other MOOCs are a tipping point of a gigantic, global iceberg.
Higher education have held great power and authority for years. They've been exclusive and restrictive to many. Ivory towers and the publish and peril dilemma under copyright are toast. No longer can academic wall themselves off from the masses and lord over them from above or in academic journals that few outside academia read (and I was studying for a PhD in history before I had my eg/pg DS6).
From my perspective, It's a huge boon for women, minorities, low-income and the poor. It's intellectual freedom at its best. Anyone can avail themselves and self-empower, self-direct, and self-motivate themselves with commercial-free or open sources. It's another world and reflective of a digital, knowledge-based economy (for a chart, see
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/new_economy_transition.html)
http://sourceforge.net/ - find, create, and publish open software for free - are only going to push MOOCs and open movement to the forefront. There's over 324,000 projects at the moment - up from how many a few years ago?
