Carol Levander, the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives and Digital Education at Rice University, provides an in-depth explanation for why Rice University, “a school that prides itself on a small student/faculty ratio” is developing MOOCs. Levander explains that Rice is interested in developing MOOCs to improve the quality of education they deliver to their students. She concludes that Rice is “experimenting with digital delivery and online platforms to ensure that our campus is a place where assumptions are challenged rather than passively accepted, where lively questioning of the world occurs, and where new forms of knowledge and experimentation thrive.”
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/why-use-typewriter-when-you-can-use-computer