Kari Reardon’s Art MFA Thesis Show, “WINNING” at CalArts (via CalArts Facebook page)
A high profile arts institution recently joined the spiking number of free online classes, with the California Institute of the Arts teaming up with Coursera. The rapidly expanding offerer of MOOCs, or “massive open online courses,” is only a year old, but since it started in 2012 it’s grown from partnering with three higher education institutions to now over 60. With their brief, mushroom cloud of a life, it will still take time for the MOOCs to prove to be game changers in the structure of higher education, or if they’ll just fade as a fad.
Coursera, started by two Stanford computer science professors, isn’t the only free MOOC provider out there, nor is it the first, but lately they’ve been one of the most active in amassing new partnerships. With CalArts, they’re offering fall 2013 art classes with a heavy tech lean, such as Live!: A History of Art for Artists, Animators and Gamers, Creating Site-Specific Dance and Performance Works, and Introduction to Programming for Digital Artists.
You don’t get a degree for Coursera coursework as of now, just a “Statement of Accomplishment,” although some colleges like the University of Washington have offered a course credit in exchange for a fee. However, a new bill in California introduced in the State Senate this week could mandate that the public colleges and universities in the state would have to give credit to online courses approved by faculty, which would include the MOOCs like those from CalArts at Coursera. It’s still a long way from getting a whole degree online through a MOOC, but it’s a step closer.
Of course, a ready question is, how in the world does Coursera make money to do all this? According to TechCrunch, they’ve raised $22 million in venture capital, but an actual sustaining model has yet to be reached, aside from initiatives like a recruiting service and fee-based “verified certificates.” Currently, Coursera doesn’t give the universities money, and the universities don’t give Coursera money, meaning they each incur their respective fees, with the benefit for the universities seen as a much wider audience of students. But the price for that audience for the universities can be high, with Inside Higher Ed reporting that the University of Washington spends between $15,000 to $30,000 to create a MOOC course, money which covers the salaries of the professor, videographers, and the staff who manage the course. Without fees, these free MOOCs do seem unsustainable, even if they are great PR for higher education institutions where an actual degree can be prohibitively expensive. Coursera is now linked into the system, now they have to figure out an enduring way to make it mutually beneficent for them and the universities.
The Latest
Special Edition: 🖌️Artists’ Signatures ✍️
In this special edition, we investigate what artists’ signatures actually mean, and the fascinating results reveal the multifaceted history of this curious phenomenon.
What Is a Signature in the Internet Age?
As a cryptographic unit for record-keeping, an NFT can be seen as analogous to a signature or an autograph.
The Public Theater Explores the Hurricane Katrina Diaspora in shadow/land
Written by Erika Dickerson-Despenza and directed by Candis C. Jones, this lyrical meditation on legacy, erotic fugitivity, and self-determination is on view in NYC.
The Meaning of Ancient Greek and Roman Artisan Signatures
What did a signature mean in the ancient world, and how much can we trust what they seem to tell us?
Michelangelo’s Signature and the Myth of Genius
Michelangelo served as a stellar example for future artists who sought status and economic independence.
The Rubin Museum Presents Death Is Not the End
Tibetan Buddhist and Christian works of art made across 12 centuries explore death, the afterlife, and the desire to continue to exist. On view in NYC.
Uncovering the Photographer Behind Arshile Gorky’s Most Famous Painting
As we pursue photographer Hovhannes Avedaghayan a fascinating picture begins to emerge of him and the world of which he was part.
100 Years of Artist Signatures in a Detroit Club
The beams in Detroit’s Scarab Club act as a guest book of sorts, carrying a wealth of stories and history, including signatures by Diego Rivera, Marcel Duchamp, Margaret Bourke-White, Isamu Noguchi, and others.
When I Am Empty Please Dispose of Me Properly
Ayanna Dozier, Ilana Harris-Babou, Meena Hasan, Lucia Hierro, Catherine Opie, Chuck Ramirez, and Pacifico Silano explore the myths of the American Dream at Brooklyn’s BRIC House.
The Myth of Agency Around Artists’ Signatures
In an art world built on shifting sands, artists’ signatures become symbols of agency for some, and relics of the past for others.
The Women Artists Commemorated on an NYC Sidewalk
The signatures of Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, and six other historical women artists are engraved on a small stretch of sidewalk on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Pratt’s 2023 Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition Is On View in Brooklyn
The two-part exhibition features the work of 41 graduating artists across disciplines, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, and integrated practices.
Met Museum Repatriates 15 Objects to India
The sculptures were all at one point sold by the disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor.
Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova Placed on Russian “Wanted” List
Tolokonnikova has long been a thorn in the side of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
As a Coursera fan and user, I’m ever hopeful. The range in course quality is pretty dramatic and the peer-editing system is a little frustrating at times, but it is such a pleasure to have open-source access to these resources.