New Zealand’s largest university is about to give away its teaching free as the Government calls the tertiary sector together to discuss whether such an approach is the way forward.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce will host the Innovations in Tertiary Education Delivery Summit next week, where the global education phenomenon of “Moocs” (massive open online courses) will take centre stage.

The University of Auckland will use the event to launch its first Moocs, joining other New Zealand institutions.

The courses generally take four to six weeks, have no entry requirements and are largely free.

They enable someone sitting in their lounge in Auckland to take a course offered by a top university such as Harvard.

The Government has issued a discussion paper that says modern technology could affect education as much as previous shifts including the invention of the printing press.

From a learner’s perspective, their potential is huge, offering largely free and on-demand education that can be far more individualised than many university courses which are rising in cost each year.

Source: The New Zealand Herald

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