The Future Of Online Ed Isn't Heading Where You Expect

A new pioneer has just planted its flag on the education-technology frontier: the country of Trinidad and Tobago. Its government announced the creation of a "national knowledge network" to promote free online learning in partnership with Khan Academy and Coursera.

The initiative is part of a broader national strategy of investment in education. The currently oil- and gas-dependent Caribbean nation is trying to transform itself into a knowledge economy. For observers of ed-tech, meanwhile, the news represents a possible future path for Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs -- not as a replacement for a college degree but as a resource for hybrid and lifelong learning, made in the USA and exported around the world.

So, what's really new here? Well, this Trinidad and Tobago effort takes the level of coordination up a notch. Their focus is on connecting MOOC-powered learning to jobs. Graduates from Learning Hub programs will receive a government-issued certificate of participation from knowledge.tt.

This edgy strategy is part of a larger trend of the nation investing hugely in education. Since 2010, education has received the highest budgetary allocation of all government ministries, representing 18 percent of the country's annual expenditure and six percent of GDP (above the US, at 5.4% of GDP). Trinidad and Tobago spent $250 million in 2013 on classroom laptops alone.