Online education is a paradigm shift in learning

I have always been curious about philosophy and wished that if I had the time and money, I would join undergraduate classes at a nearby university (I wanted to learn for the joy of learning because I already have two masters degrees).  It did not happen till Coursera came along and I found that they, in partnership with University of Edinburgh in Scotland, were offering an Introduction to Philosophy course for free. 

Let me tell you while I had heard great things about online learning, once I started taking the classes, only then I realized that it is even better than my wildest expectations.  Some of the best parts:

• I 'go to school' sort of whenever I want.
• I can literally take classes on my couch while sipping a glass of wine.
• If my mind wanders or I don't grasp something right away all I need to do is to rewind the video.  Yeah, one could ask a question in class, but not always, and it is impossible to admit to a professor that you did not pay attention to what he just said.

We will definitely go through a period of transition in which we would not know what is the best business model for education, but my prediction is that online education will transform everything.  Imagine the poorest people in the world being able to access the best professor without ever leaving or worrying about the high cost of going to Oxford or Harvard!  We are on to something big, ladies and gentlemen.