A crossroad, an intersection, however we define it, the online higher-education landscape is changing rapidly and we have many important questions to consider.

How do we frame discussions about quality, scale, cost, ethical issues and other concerns about the future of online education? These themes will be addressed in our opening plenary moderated by Jeff Young of the Chronicle of Higher Education and featuring Jose Cruz, Vice President for Policy and Practice at the Education Trust; Allan Drimmer, Provost of Phoenix University; and Jack Wilson, President Emeritus of the University of Massachusetts and UMass Online.

New models of online learning are emerging that create yet another crossroad.  With elite institutions such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford providing free access to online education what’s in store for future college students?  Are edX, Coursera, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) the answer for global access to higher education?  Our keynote address by Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Udacity and Director of Google X will provide fascinating insight into this provocative new arena.  

 

The rise of MOOCs reminds us that online technologies continue to create incredible opportunities for mass participation and collaboration in education.  For example, the online science forum, Zooniverse, has brought together more than 600,000 citizen scientists to discover new planets and solve other mysteries of the universe. Learn more about the world’s largest online science collaboration, in our Friday morning plenary with Dr. Arfon Smith, Director of Citizen Science at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

The 2012 Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning is the premier forum for approaching the complex issues and opportunities that face all concerned with the future of our students, faculty, and institutions. Join us for this year’s gathering and participate in the conversations that will help us chart the future course of high-quality online education. We look forward to your contributions!