As part of my hands on investigation of MOOCs, I’m due to start a new course on Surviving Disruptive Technologies. This one is provided by Hank Lucas of University of Maryland.

The first lecture is available on YouTube.

Hopefully what I might learn in this course, which is a more traditional MOOC than edcmooc, will provide some useful insight into the impact of MOOCs on higher education as a business, and how we at Staffordshire could deal with this new technology.

The survival model considers the dilemma for the  incumbent facing a disruptive change from an innovation:

• Denial
• History
• Resistance to Change
• MInd Set
• Brand
• Sunk Costs
• Profitabilitgy
• Lack of Imagination

(Interesting to reflect that my view of MOOCs might be classified under these headings.)

Based on this, the organisation has to choose how to survive:

• Change business model to accommodate competition and new opportunities
• Abandion existing buisines model and adopt a new one
• Failure – merger, buyout, liquidate

As I go through the course, I’ll post my thoughts and experiences.