0:00:15.033,0:00:18.532
Who here went to college?[br]Raise your hands.

0:00:19.472,0:00:20.805
I did too.

0:00:21.485,0:00:24.464
I got to spend four years[br]on this beautiful campus.

0:00:24.924,0:00:27.877
I learnt a lot about computer science[br]from my classes

0:00:27.877,0:00:30.796
and even more about life[br]from my friends.

0:00:31.986,0:00:35.631
I also developed[br]a lifelong love of orange and black.

0:00:35.631,0:00:37.886
(Laughter)

0:00:37.886,0:00:40.841
This is Teppo's son.

0:00:40.841,0:00:42.848
He recently learnt to walk

0:00:42.848,0:00:45.508
and even though Teppo[br]doesn't believe me when I tell him this,

0:00:45.508,0:00:47.770
he's going to be walking off[br]to college pretty soon.

0:00:48.250,0:00:51.106
So, Teppo. How do you think[br]your son's college experience

0:00:51.106,0:00:53.563
is going to be, compared to ours?

0:00:54.173,0:00:56.678
Teppo Jouttenus: I must admit[br]that I don't quite know.

0:00:56.678,0:00:58.872
I have more questions than answers

0:00:58.872,0:01:02.279
when I think about how will [br]education be 20 years from now,

0:01:02.279,0:01:03.992
both here in the US [br]and around the world.

0:01:04.852,0:01:07.809
But I do know that some things[br]must change,

0:01:07.809,0:01:09.186
and here are four:

0:01:09.186,0:01:11.354
education must get better.

0:01:11.354,0:01:14.495
Too many people enter college [br]unprepared to learn

0:01:14.495,0:01:18.413
and leave unprepared to get [br]a good job or be good citizens.

0:01:18.413,0:01:20.785
One scary statistic [br]from a recent study

0:01:20.785,0:01:25.742
is that 36% of students[br]across a range of universities

0:01:26.122,0:01:28.516
made no significant improvement

0:01:28.516,0:01:30.910
in their critical thinking, reasoning,

0:01:30.910,0:01:33.306
and writing skills[br]in four years of college.

0:01:33.706,0:01:35.797
We can do better than that.

0:01:36.207,0:01:38.027
VS: Education must get cheaper.

0:01:38.637,0:01:41.680
If it doesn't, then billions of people[br]around the world

0:01:41.680,0:01:44.363
who needs to be educated

0:01:44.363,0:01:45.567
are not going to get access

0:01:45.567,0:01:47.831
to the high quality education[br]they need.

0:01:47.831,0:01:49.117
Just here in the US,

0:01:49.117,0:01:51.578
there is over a trillion dollars[br]of student debt.

0:01:52.214,0:01:53.969
Anyone here still have student loans?

0:01:57.339,0:02:00.180
TJ: Education must be able[br]to adapt faster.

0:02:00.740,0:02:02.342
Anyone's college or university

0:02:02.342,0:02:06.511
were they specifically good[br]at making quick decisions,

0:02:06.511,0:02:08.747
adapting to change? No.

0:02:08.957,0:02:11.177
There are benefits[br]to keeping a steady course

0:02:11.177,0:02:12.767
but sometimes changing education

0:02:12.767,0:02:14.667
feels like taking a herd of elephants

0:02:14.667,0:02:16.789
and trying to get them[br]to change directions.

0:02:17.319,0:02:19.970
VS: And finally,[br]education has to last longer.

0:02:20.300,0:02:21.937
It may actually turn out to be

0:02:21.937,0:02:23.914
that four years of college[br]is too much

0:02:23.914,0:02:26.503
but four years of education[br]is definitely not enough

0:02:26.503,0:02:28.625
in today's quickly changing world.

0:02:28.625,0:02:30.584
So let's review where we are starting,

0:02:30.584,0:02:32.273
with traditional education first.

0:02:33.243,0:02:34.973
TJ: The traditional education bundle

0:02:34.973,0:02:37.328
has elements that are both non academic

0:02:37.328,0:02:39.612
like housing and football teams,

0:02:39.612,0:02:42.335
and academic,[br]like professors and classes,

0:02:42.335,0:02:44.178
and it comes with a hefty price tag.

0:02:44.178,0:02:47.805
There is a lot of experimentation[br]going on right now

0:02:47.805,0:02:50.779
in ways of unbundling education.

0:02:50.779,0:02:53.768
Taking these elements[br]in different combinations

0:02:53.768,0:02:56.237
to meet various different needs.

0:02:56.237,0:02:58.370
One interesting example is[br]taking online classes

0:02:58.370,0:03:00.503
without the football teams

0:03:00.503,0:03:02.637
and having them for free.

0:03:03.457,0:03:05.953
This obviously will not solve

0:03:05.953,0:03:08.585
all the challenges[br]we have in education

0:03:08.585,0:03:11.407
but it raises[br]some interesting questions

0:03:11.407,0:03:15.241
that are dear to our heart,[br]because we work at edX

0:03:15.241,0:03:18.607
and there we publish courses[br]from top universities

0:03:18.607,0:03:22.316
freely available to anyone[br]with an Internet connection.

0:03:23.456,0:03:28.365
So, Victor, how does this differ[br]from the standard education bundle?

0:03:28.365,0:03:31.784
VS: Sure. Before I worked at edX,[br]I spent several years

0:03:31.784,0:03:34.670
helping create and teach[br]classes at Harvard.

0:03:35.240,0:03:37.293
There we had a pretty standard model.

0:03:37.293,0:03:39.046
We had a professor that gives lectures.

0:03:39.046,0:03:41.943
I spent hundreds of hours[br]creating problems

0:03:41.943,0:03:44.190
and then grading then[br]when they were submitted.

0:03:44.190,0:03:47.851
Of course, students came [br]to my section and did problems.

0:03:48.581,0:03:51.243
Teppo has worked a lot[br]with creating edX classes

0:03:51.243,0:03:53.516
so tell us about one of those[br]and we will see how it differs.

0:03:53.516,0:03:55.988
TJ: Sure. As a program manager,

0:03:55.988,0:03:58.567
my job is to work with professors[br]and their teams,

0:03:58.567,0:04:01.415
and find the various different[br]components that come together

0:04:01.415,0:04:04.241
to do the best possible [br]online class that we can.

0:04:05.211,0:04:08.909
For one MIT course, we started[br]with the legendary Physics professor,

0:04:08.909,0:04:10.246
Walter Lewin,

0:04:10.246,0:04:14.142
added in two other professors,[br]three lecturers, one postdoc,

0:04:14.972,0:04:20.651
sprinkled into the mix some students,[br]a program manager, video team,

0:04:20.651,0:04:23.388
software engineers,[br]and blended it all together

0:04:23.388,0:04:25.308
to create the online version

0:04:25.308,0:04:27.776
of Walter Lewin's[br]Electricity and Magnetism.

0:04:28.376,0:04:30.585
And Victor was one[br]of the software engineers

0:04:30.585,0:04:33.240
that built the platform[br]that makes all of this possible.

0:04:33.240,0:04:35.849
Do you want to talk about[br]some of the elements of the class?

0:04:35.849,0:04:39.058
VS: Sure. So, here are[br]some of the screens in the class.

0:04:39.058,0:04:43.379
We have Walter Lewin,[br]or a video of Walter Lewin,

0:04:43.379,0:04:46.409
describing the science[br]behind Van der Graaf generators.

0:04:46.409,0:04:49.729
It's immediately followed by [br]problems like this one asking you,

0:04:49.729,0:04:51.951
did you actually understand[br]what you just saw?

0:04:51.951,0:04:54.803
Where students get incentive back.

0:04:54.803,0:04:56.811
We have interactive simulations[br]like this one,

0:04:56.811,0:04:58.590
written specifically for this class,

0:04:58.590,0:05:04.687
that shows how electric fields change[br]as charged particles move in them.

0:05:04.687,0:05:06.492
And finally we have a discussion forum

0:05:06.492,0:05:08.075
where students from all over the world

0:05:08.075,0:05:12.002
can connect and discuss the material[br]and help each other learn.

0:05:12.002,0:05:14.229
So, for example, in this particular screen

0:05:14.229,0:05:17.151
one of the students posted[br]a relevant video from Youtube

0:05:17.151,0:05:21.175
that illustrates some of the concepts[br]discussed in the class,

0:05:21.175,0:05:23.555
sparking a discussion[br]where people were asking

0:05:23.555,0:05:25.612
why this is working, [br]what is going on.

0:05:25.612,0:05:29.588
So together, compared to [br]the experience I had at Harvard,

0:05:29.588,0:05:31.787
this is somewhat different. [br]We get this bundle,

0:05:31.787,0:05:35.912
we lose that in-person connection[br]that I had with my students in section

0:05:35.912,0:05:39.083
but we get this global forum[br]and global connections,

0:05:39.083,0:05:40.985
and we get instant feedback,

0:05:40.985,0:05:42.253
which is something that [br]was much harder

0:05:42.253,0:05:44.177
to do in a traditional model.

0:05:44.177,0:05:46.815
So let's look at the edX class

0:05:46.815,0:05:49.121
with the four aspects we said before.

0:05:49.751,0:05:53.791
TJ: One way that the edX class[br]is pedagogically better

0:05:53.791,0:05:55.573
than traditional lecturing is because

0:05:55.573,0:05:57.355
the lecture is split into smalls snippets

0:05:57.355,0:05:59.138
and you get instant feedback,

0:05:59.138,0:06:01.460
so there is more engagement[br]with the student.

0:06:01.750,0:06:03.949
It is freely available [br]for the whole world

0:06:03.949,0:06:06.148
and the team can adapt faster

0:06:06.148,0:06:08.348
because they don't have [br]to spend any energy

0:06:08.348,0:06:10.990
recreating the parts that they loved.

0:06:10.990,0:06:13.686
Instead, they can focus [br]on improving the parts

0:06:13.686,0:06:15.129
that they weren't happy with.

0:06:15.129,0:06:19.080
And it opens up new possibilities[br]for lifelong learning.

0:06:19.080,0:06:23.044
Our colleague Ruth's father is 89

0:06:23.044,0:06:25.882
and he is still actively[br]taking edX classes.

0:06:27.162,0:06:31.069
VS: Of course, not everything[br]about the online class is better.

0:06:31.629,0:06:35.090
In particular, it costs a lot[br]to create such a class,

0:06:35.090,0:06:37.163
and, as I mentioned earlier,

0:06:37.163,0:06:40.373
we really lose that in-person connection[br]between teacher and student

0:06:40.373,0:06:42.466
that can be so important in some cases

0:06:42.466,0:06:46.524
to keep students motivated[br]and to help them get through the material.

0:06:46.524,0:06:49.287
But one of the great things is,[br]once we have created this class,

0:06:49.287,0:06:51.482
we can call up yet another bundle.

0:06:51.482,0:06:52.987
We are already trying things like this,

0:06:52.987,0:06:55.416
where we take Walter Lewin's course,

0:06:55.416,0:06:58.737
and we bring it to a campus,[br]or a thousand campuses,

0:06:58.737,0:07:00.740
and you can have the professor there

0:07:00.740,0:07:02.755
instead of having to spend[br]those hundred of hours

0:07:02.755,0:07:05.791
creating materials that we already have,

0:07:06.451,0:07:08.134
guide their students through it,

0:07:08.134,0:07:11.735
and really focus on addressing[br]the individual needs that they have

0:07:11.735,0:07:14.122
and not just incorporating the basics.

0:07:16.002,0:07:18.315
This is just one combination

0:07:18.315,0:07:20.250
and the future of education[br]is going to involve

0:07:20.250,0:07:22.647
lots of different experiments[br]and combinations.

0:07:22.647,0:07:25.386
Only some of which[br]will involve online learning.

0:07:25.386,0:07:27.144
That should bring us to...

0:07:27.864,0:07:29.294
TJ: Blenders.

0:07:30.364,0:07:32.226
Or how do we most effectively

0:07:32.226,0:07:35.874
blend online and face-to-face [br]elements in education,

0:07:35.874,0:07:39.741
and how do we create[br]the most effective education bundles

0:07:39.741,0:07:41.485
to meet the needs of different learners

0:07:41.485,0:07:43.489
in different kind of circumstances.

0:07:43.489,0:07:45.934
And this is where [br]we need your help.

0:07:45.934,0:07:49.390
As we and others [br]continue to experiment

0:07:49.390,0:07:52.570
we want you to try out[br]the different bundles

0:07:52.570,0:07:54.303
and share what works well.

0:07:54.343,0:07:57.986
So when you come across[br]a delicious educational smoothie...

0:07:57.986,0:07:59.518
(Laughter)

0:07:59.518,0:08:02.894
... tell your teachers,[br]tell your friends, tell your school,

0:08:02.894,0:08:07.423
because the more demand there is[br]for awesome learning experiences

0:08:07.423,0:08:11.511
the quicker the best educational bundles[br]become the new standard.

0:08:12.631,0:08:16.174
VS: Of course, it's important to remember[br]some of these educational smoothies

0:08:16.174,0:08:18.942
are going to have actual [br]snow and ice, not computers.

0:08:18.942,0:08:22.543
For example, this was my classroom[br]on a course I took several years ago

0:08:22.543,0:08:24.988
with the National[br]Outdoor Leadership School.

0:08:24.988,0:08:28.510
We spent several weeks[br]trekking through the mountains,

0:08:28.510,0:08:30.841
learning about leadership and teaching,

0:08:30.841,0:08:34.539
and trying to find our way[br]through the woods, and not get too lost.

0:08:34.539,0:08:36.383
I learnt a lot from this course.

0:08:36.383,0:08:40.344
I find myself using things I learnt here[br]pretty much every single day,

0:08:40.344,0:08:43.447
which is not something I can say[br]from most of my college classes.

0:08:44.627,0:08:47.748
This was one of the high points[br]of the trip.

0:08:48.338,0:08:49.987
We were on top of a mountain

0:08:49.987,0:08:52.852
and could really see[br]the landscape in front of us,

0:08:52.852,0:08:55.478
and sort of gather a glimpse[br]of where we were headed.

0:08:55.478,0:08:59.729
I find that working in the everchanging[br]landscape of education today

0:08:59.729,0:09:01.372
is sometimes like this,

0:09:01.372,0:09:03.815
where it feels like we really see[br]what is going on

0:09:03.815,0:09:06.982
and we know where we are going,[br]but more often it feels like this,

0:09:06.982,0:09:08.840
which is an afternoon on the trip,

0:09:08.840,0:09:11.713
trying to find camp[br]in a half frozen swamp

0:09:11.713,0:09:13.226
in the middle of a snowstorm.

0:09:13.226,0:09:14.849
But we did it,

0:09:14.849,0:09:17.121
and one of the things[br]I learnt from this trip,

0:09:17.121,0:09:18.653
and from this course was

0:09:18.653,0:09:21.377
how important it is[br]to really embrace the uncertainty

0:09:21.377,0:09:24.739
when you are exploring a new territory[br]that you don't know already.

0:09:24.739,0:09:27.143
And I think that[br]if we do that in education

0:09:27.143,0:09:30.106
we will be able to discover[br]better combinations

0:09:30.106,0:09:34.349
that more succesfully help people [br]teach and help people learn.

0:09:35.950,0:09:39.450
We hope that we've managed[br]to convince you

0:09:39.450,0:09:41.478
that the future of education is exciting

0:09:41.478,0:09:44.109
and that perhaps[br]you are a little nervous about it.

0:09:44.159,0:09:45.786
And we hope we help.

0:09:45.786,0:09:50.520
Join in discussion around this,[br]try new things, and share what works.

0:09:51.970,0:09:54.989
TJ: I don't know[br]if my son's college bundle

0:09:54.989,0:09:57.411
will include a football team or not.

0:09:57.721,0:10:01.889
But what I do know[br]is that when we continue, all of us,

0:10:01.889,0:10:05.581
to experiment and share[br]the best educational bundles

0:10:05.581,0:10:09.685
we can make education better,[br]cheaper, faster, and longer.

0:10:09.685,0:10:10.930
Thank you.

0:10:10.930,0:10:13.050
(Applause)