A few months ago, free online courses from prestigious universities were a rarity. Now, they are the cause for announcements every few weeks, as a field suddenly studded with big-name colleges and competing software platforms evolves with astonishing speed.
In a major development last week, a dozen highly ranked universities said they had signed on with Coursera, a new venture offering free classes online. They must overcome skepticism about the quality of online education and the prospects for having the courses cover the costs of producing them, but their enthusiasm is undimmed.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Taking the world to school - Houston Chronicle
