ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by exploring McLuhan's ideas in more depth before examining trends in education of which autonomous learning, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and other forms of technology-enabled active learning are contemporary manifestations. The transfer of Higher Education (HE) costs to those who consume them is euphemistically called cost-sharing. Societies are increasingly questioning who benefits most from HE and coming to the conclusion that it is the students who benefit most. As a result, students are being asked to pay a higher and higher proportion of the costs. Faculty are caught in the middle of an ever-tightening bind. Their students are customers and evermore demanding and critical. While the technological changes make so much more possible on a micro-level, they bring with them much greater competition. MOOCs allow students the opportunity to "try before they buy", to sample the teaching before committing to a university for a qualification.
