Letter to the editor
(11/02/17 4:53pm)
The editors rightly point out that MOOCs have not lived up to the disruptive prognostications that were made at the “inflated expectations peak” of their hype cycle. But they seem stuck in the “trough of disillusionment,” the disappointment that follows the peak, when in fact open online learning has entered the next phase, the “plateau of productivity.” Great universities—Duke included—are integrating online learning into their strategies in ways that would have been unimaginable 10 years ago. Those strategies are still emergent, but several are showing promise in addressing crucial issues of cost, access, and lifelong learning.