The 4^th edition of the edX Global Forum recently concluded in Boston. This year the venue was the renowned Boston University campus and the attendees consisted of various representatives from leading institutions worldwide.

The forum was a grand success and all discussion was centered on the current trends in the online education space, exchanging ideas, knowledge, best practices and students’ feedback as well as perspectives. The forum saw energy, ideation and many new insights connected with the future of education.

Some of the broad insights generated from the forum were as follows:

One of the key points of discussion revolved around the long term model of efficiency and the monetization as well as feasibility of this new model of education and training.

Currently, it is an expensive model as it involves the creation of a high level of course which is also offered at reasonable fees or is totally free.

As the dynamics of this model undergoes changes and there emerges a need to build better quality teaching methods and leaning modules, the need for it to be considered as an infrastructure costs, making it more sustainable in the long run.

Another key discussion was on the topic of the future model of campus based learning vis a vis the MOOC one.

While the open online model has never claimed to be a replacement to the traditional brick and mortar model of teaching, there is a close watch over the development of the connection with a teacher or a professor. Now, a student opting for a free MOOC model gets the same professor you find teaching at the same university and the content too largely remains the same. It has become more important to raise the bar and value addition to ensure the brick and mortar model keeps growing.

In the words of one of the members attending the event, “The main focus this year was the spirit of collaboration and exchange of ideas towards improving the learning model and understanding each other.”

One of the hot topics which was debated upon and discussed at length included creating more awareness of the model itself and dispelling the common misunderstanding existing all across on this model replacing the traditional brick and mortar model.

But, it was a clear cut conclusion that the work being done to improvise the open learning model is actually going to have a positive impact on the development of better and enhanced teaching methods in the classroom model.

“The edX Global Forum is a platform where like-minded professionals get together to share insights, discuss their experiences of interacting with students from across the globe and generate a long term strategy towards the best in class open online model of teaching and learning, benefitting faculty, the students and various educational institutions equally,” commented one of the organizers at the sidelines of the event.

For more details visit edX Global Forum.