The hype surrounding massive open online courses in recent years has led to questions about whether teaching — and learning — through a lecture broadcast to several students at the same time could democratize education, which is becoming an increasingly expensive investment in many parts of the world.
In developing countries, where youths often have even more barriers to schooling, this debate seems particularly relevant.
edX offers university-level MOOCs, and CEO Anant Agarwal said it currently has more than 3.5 million students, 40 percent of whom come from developing countries. While Agarwal believes MOOCs won’t replace traditional on-campus teaching, he said these courses can be an alternative form of schooling for those who do not have access to education.
About the author
Anna Patricia Valerio
Anna Patricia Valerio is a former Manila-based development analyst who focused on writing innovative, in-the-know content for senior executives in the international development community. Before joining Devex, Patricia wrote and edited business, technology and health stories for BusinessWorld, a Manila-based business newspaper.
