Alex Wright


From ivory tower to academic sweatshop

January 25, 2005

Salon just published my article "From Ivory Tower to Academic Sweatshop," a look at the evolution of distance learning over the past few years.

Since the piece strikes a cautionary note about certain aspects of online learning, I am fully expecting to field a few critical reactions from proponents of distance learning. So, let me try to anticipate some of those reactions here by pointing out (as I try to do in the piece) that I am not particularly trying to dispute the educational merits of online learning. Millions of students can and do learn effectively online; and distance education is an indisputable boon to working professionals and residents of remote areas. The point I'm trying to make here is a broader one, about the way online education is triggering macroeconomic pressures on universities, forcing them to embrace a corporate teleology in their approach to delivering educational "product."

Later in the piece, I also try to point out that the current situation could easily change, with the rise of open source initiatives like MIT's Open Courseware project. But today, the economics of online education are forcing more and more schools to manage themselves like businesses.

Decide for yourself: From Ivory Tower to Academic Sweatshop


File under: Publications

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