Finding Real Solutions For Getting College Credit For Free Online Classes

Steffan Antonas — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 14:29:05 +0000

We’re finally starting to see real, viable solutions materialize for getting college credit for free online classes. It’s happening slowly considering that the demand for free classes online is so high, but you can’t really fault the brick and mortar institutions for the lack of pace. Many of the universities that are participating in the effort to go digital are also some of the world’s oldest and most prestigious organizations. We can’t forget that they’re businesses too, and you can’t expect them to upend the industry they’re leading all at once without a rigorous approach to testing and measuring what happens when you give hundreds of thousands of people instant free access to what used to be reserved for a privileged few. That said, one big answer to how students may start to get credit for free online courses are starting to emerge – Proctored tests.

On Thursday Colorado State University’s Global Campus announced it would give three transfer credits to students who complete Introduction to Computer Science: Building a Search Engine, a free course offered by Udacity, and take a proctored test. While the Global Campus is apparently the first American institution to offer credit for a Udacity MOOC, several European universities have already done so. On the same day, EdX, the Harvard-M.I.T. online collaboration, announced that students in its MOOCs would be able to take proctored final exams at Pearson VUE’s brick-and-mortar testing centers around the world, where their identity can be verified.

While it’s not the most innovative approach and it might not scale well, I think it’s encouraging and practical. Baby steps.

You can read more about it on the New York Times.

Cab Drivers Are Adopting Square in Boston

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:48:31 +0000

This happened to me again last night:

I’m getting out of a cab and, as I pull out my debit card and reach for the clunky card swipe attached to the cab divider, the cabbie turns around and says “oh no, I use Square”. Then he takes my card, pulls out his iPhone, and rings me up with a smile. Five seconds later, I get a text message saying that I’ve paid.

“Saves me a ton of money,” he says. With this, I pay 2.75%. With that thing (points to the card swipe in his car), they take me for a ride.

I first got my square account when the company was first announced. Back then, you couldn’t charge less than $100 bucks, so it wasn’t useful for most of the transactions an individual would want to use it for. I’m glad Square has overcome that hurdle. They are really solving a problem that needed to be solved, and they’re creating so much opportunity for individuals and small businesses that didn’t previously exist. Hat tip to Jack Dorsey and the Square team. They’re making a difference, and it’s awesome to see the smiles on people’s faces that they’re helping.