Does Technology Ever Reduce the Costs of Teaching?
Randall Bergen, an assistant to the president of Bethel University in Minnesota, was initially excited by the hype and promise of flipped classrooms, MOOCs, and hybrid courses. He hoped the innovations could reduce costs. But in reality, more technology has meant more spending for his university. And like many officials, that left him discouraged as the hype has worn off. One question in particular has stuck in his head: Do any tech innovations actually lower the cost of delivery in higher education? "People have thought, mostly people outside of higher ed, that if we could just find the right technology, we could bring down the cost of higher education dramatically," he said. "We who live in this world see that that’s not likely to happen in the near future."