By Stephen Downes - Halfanhour. Please see my presentation and audio here: http://www.downes.ca/presentation/339
N.V. Varghese
- view from developing countries
    - largest expansion of the system in this century
    - did not rely on public resources at all - shows willingness to pay
    - GER (gross educational? resources) disparity worldwide
    - OECD countries universalized higher ed, but developing countries still in an elite system
    - social demand far outstrips brick-and-mortar solutions
- can MOOCs address this?
    - enormous potential
    - Tsinghua (#1 in BRICs) created a consortium of leading universities to teach Mandarin
    - IIT in India relies on MOOCs for skills in IT sector
    - 330 million in India will have Internet in 2015

Constraints
    - technology and infrastructure
    - language constraint - courses are in English
   
Who benefits?
    - mostly the elite - already have degrees (80%)
    - they are proficient in English, they are employed, they're not looking for a degree

So - MOOCs serve privileged students, not a reliable way to increase equivalent access to higher education
    - private institutions and commercial interest in MOOCs
    - are the MOOCs taking all the money?
    - MOOCs give them a way to feel like they are contributing even if they aren't
    - disparities in access are getting narrowed, but disparities in achievement are not
    - argument that MOOCs are widening the disparities
    - propose partnering with existing institutions as an initial step to make them more
      widespread in developing countries. More...