[6th Jan. 2021 update: Web Archive - Wayback Machine - link: https://web.archive.org/web/20121113052806/http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2012/11/napster-udacity-and-the-academy/ as following link is now broken] http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2012/11/napster-udacity-and-the-academy/ is a fascinating analysis of higher education challenges and opportunities.
I would like to preface my comments below by saying that some of what I have written below as possibilities for the future may already be happening in the USA but, as far as I know, have not yet happened on a significant scale in India.
I found the mp3+Napster disruption of music industry example and similar possibility being considered in higher education fascinating. The mp3 compression format, Napster and fantastic devices like the iPod allowed music of so many genres to be enjoyed by so many people worldwide, even if the quality of the playback was not as good as uncompressed CDs. It was a revolution in bringing music to the masses worldwide.
In my humble analysis of Indian Computer Science and Information Technology academia I have found that teaching quality has become less important as the academic career growth path is more on the research side, http://arxiv.org/pdf/1202.1715. With Internet based learning/MOOCs the emphasis on good teaching is bound to increase. The competition in higher education will be just a mouse-click away!
Prof. Sebastain Thrun talked about how teaching in elite colleges involves having 'weeder' classes and how his online class forced him to change his style to accommodate less brighter or less knowledgeable students too. Very importantly, the Internet teaching medium gave him the opportunity to do so. Prof. Thrun's talk can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkneoNrfadk. In case you don't have the time to view the video, you might want to read a blog post of mine on it, http://eklavyasai.blogspot.in/2012/07/prof-sebastain-thruns-experience-of.html.
Internet based learning certainly seems to have the potential to bring a knowledge delivery revolution just like the mp3+ipod music delivery revolution. It will be an awesome utopian-dream-come-true scenario if knowledge delivery to the masses worldwide in the not-so-distant future becomes like how music is delivered today to the masses worldwide.
Certification of whether knowledge has been acquired adequately can be delinked from teaching/learning (different from smaller tests/quizzes which are conducted during the teaching of a course). That may really free up the student. S/he can choose the Internet teacher(s) for her/his courses and prove to herself/himself and others that they have picked up the knowledge by clearing examination(s) of her/his choice and acquire the appropriate certificates.
Employers will be able to give market feedback on the knowledge level of graduates with different certifications. That should filter out certifications/examinations that do not test students appropriately.
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