The University of the People, started two years ago by Shai Reshef, has found a committed group of English-speaking students in Haiti, as the devastating earthquake there destroyed many of the countries higher-learning facilities. For four hours a day for ten weeks, students can come to computer centers in the city and attend a free online university. Using free software and volunteer professors, UoP teaches 1,000 students in more than 100 countries, teaching business administration or computer science. Students are given weekly reading, then “are required to post responses and comment on other students’ responses”. Recently, N.Y.U and Hewlett-Packard have announced a partnership with UoP, giving scholarships and internship opportunities to the students.
This program, fairly new, is an idea inspired by websites such as Wikipedia- an online encyclopedia, containing articles on every topic, written by experts of their own free will. For now, UoP is not aimed toward ordinary high schoolers. Instead, it was intended as a philanthropic contribution to global education, trying to help poor young adults all over the world. Still, it is likely that in the next ten or so years, online universities will become an essential part, or option, for those graduating high school. Considering the ridiculous sums of money parents pay to send their children to school across the country, despite a recession and high gas prices, it is unreasonable to think there isn’t a cheaper, more convenient alternative available to all.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/education/25future_people.html?hpw
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