UT of Austin Embraces Online Education to the Masses

As a friend to many educators and a follower online media, I was totally fascinated by Reeve Hamilton's article 'UT-Austin Announces Nine Massive Open Online Courses' in the Texas Tribune. The article is a basic but optimistic telling of the free educational courses that UT will offer starting in Fall 2013 due to the partnership between UT and Edx ( A provider of massive open online courses).This is news that I had been expecting for about three years when I began my adventure into higher education. How wonderful would it be for the public to grab hold of something that could seem very elusive? I know many people who struggle with the bittersweet demands of higher education, whether it's due to financial woes, time restraints, or family obligations. I can't help but think that it would be an amazing opportunity for those willing to grasp at the chance. However, I also can't  imagine the reconstruction of the entire educational system and the substitutions that would be set. While still in its baby stages of development, this progressive moment involving wider availability to students is one to follow closely. Even though the classes are few and preliminary I feel a storm-a-comin' as far as online education availability goes. I watched this TED talks a while back (highly recommended) which is a wonderful look into online education that pairs perfectly with this chunk of Texas news.