1慕课英文写作中英对照Everyone’sgoingMOOC-crazythesedays.FromfrequentmediacoverageofonlinecoursesandplatformslikeCoursera,edX,Udacity,andUdemytodiscussionsaboutthecomplexitiesandbusinessmodelsofonlineeducation,theexcitementaroundMOOCs(MassiveOpenOnlineCourses)hasfinally“bubbled”over.在最近的这些日子里,MOOC让每个人为之疯狂。在媒体对在线课程及诸如Coursera,edX,Udacity,Udemy这些平台的大规模报道,以及关于其复杂性和商业模式的各种讨论之后,围绕MOOC的各种兴奋终于归于平静。ThequestionisnotjustwhetherMOOCsaregoingtodisrupttraditionaleducation,buthow.Isitjustaboutlowercostsandaccess?IsitreallygoingtobeaNapster-likemomentwithentrenched“Teamstersintweed”worriedabouttheerosionoftheirresearch,publishing,andteaching?但当前的问题已不是MOOC是否会颠覆传统教育,而是会如何颠覆传统教育。难道MOOC的优势仅在于更低的成本和更便捷的学习渠道?MOOC真会如某些老顽固所言,侵蚀他们的研究、出版和教学活动,造就诸如当年Napster颠覆音乐行业的时刻?Thisiswherewecanleavetherealmofhypeandcommentarytodrawonourownyearsofresearchintodisruptiontheory.BecausethecuriousthingabouttheMOOCwaveofdisruptionisthatthemarketleaders—notjustupstartsfromtheedges—aretheonespioneeringit.Andthatrarelyhappens.在关于MOOC的各种炒作和评论之外,我们得以分享我们自己就颠覆性创新的多年研究。因为,这一波由MOOC掀起的颠覆式浪潮中有一点足让人好奇,即那些处于市场中心的2既得利益者,而不仅仅是那些处于市场边缘的创业团队,在率先引导(制造)这样一个变革,而这种情况,此前很少发生。ButFirst:AreMOOCsReally‘Disruptive’?Yes,theword“disrupt”isoverused.Butithasaspecificmeaningwhenwe’retalkingaboutit.AndMOOCsdobeartheearlyhallmarksofadisruptiveinnovation:首先,MOOC果真在“颠覆”吗?没错,“颠覆”这个词已经被用烂了。不过,这个被用烂的词背后实际有其指代,我们说MOOC是颠覆式的,也确实名正言顺,原因有三:Servesnon-consumers.MOOCsarelimitedintheservicestheyprovidecomparedtotraditionalcolleges,yetatthesametimetheyarefreeandmoreaccessible—whichallowsthemtoservethosewhocouldn’totherwiseaccesstraditionalhighereducation.Similarly,Toyota’searlycarsdidn’tmatchthereliabilityofDetroit’sautomobiles.Buttheyweremoreaffordableandconvenient,sothecompanyfirstservedpeople(“non-consumers”)forwhomthealternativewas,quiteliterally,nothing.1.非目标客户终于被包括进来:跟传统高校的服务相比,MOOC确有很多不足之处。但与此同时,MOOC的各类课程却是免费的,而且也更容易获取——这就使得它们可以辐射到那些原本无福消受高等教育的一大群用户。举个类似的例子,丰田早期的汽车就没有底特律各大公司产的可靠性那么强,但因为丰田的车子更便宜也更方便,所以这家公司第一次让那些非目标客户变成了目标客户——对这部分用户来说,几乎不存在其他公司提供的可行方案。3Marchesupmarket.Insteadofservingthesamecustomersattheoutsetorcompetinghead-onwithestablishedproducts,disruptiveinnovationsimproveovertimetomarchupmarket.Eventuallythequalitybecomesjustgoodenoughfortheestablishedcustomerstoflocktoit.It’sworthnotingthattheupmarketmarchisenabledbysomekeytechnology—suchasbandwidth,videoquality,onlinesharingtools,etc.—whichiswhyMOOCsmaynowbehavingtheirmoment,eventhoughthey’vebeenaroundforyears.2.逐渐向中高端市场挺进:颠覆性创新往往不是一开始上来就跟既得利益者抢客户、与其正面较量,而是随着时间的推进不断优化,逐渐挺进中高端市场。但最终,颠覆性产品的性能会达到足够好,让市场中既有的客户乖乖奔向他们。不过需要注意的一点是,实现上述这种情况往往有赖于某些核心技术的成熟——比如说带宽、视频质量、在线分享工具的保障等——这些都是MOOC现在崛起的原因,尽管它们已经存在了数年。Redefinesquality.Eventually,thedisruptiveinnovationchangestheverydefinitionofqualityinamarketplace.Inthecurrentuniversitysystem,forexample,mostfacultyarerewardedforthequalityoftheirresearch—notforthequalityoftheirteaching.Butthemediumandscalechangesthings;inthefuture,coursesmightbeofferedbasedonemployerdemand,notfacultyresearchinterests.MOOCsarealreadyevolvinginsomewaysawayfromtraditionaleducationalconstraints:Udacity’scourses,forexample,haveshiftedfromatime-controlledtoamorecompetency-basedlearningmodelthattakesadvantageoftheonlinemedium.43.重新定义什么叫好:最终,颠覆性创新会改变整个市场对于“品质”的定义。在现有的大学体系下,举个例子,大部分教师的评级标准都是基于他们的学术研究质量——而非他们的教学质量。但是,互联网媒介和规模化将开启新的变革。在未来,提供哪些课程将取决于雇主(这里指付费的学生),而非教师的研究兴趣。目前,MOOC已经在几个方向上摆脱传统教育束缚逐渐演变:举个例子,Udacity的课程就开始发挥在线媒介的优势,从一个基于时间控制的学习模式转向一个基于个人能力的学习模式(按学生的掌握情况而非简单地依照学时推进课程)。DoesWhoIsDoingtheDisruptingMatter?Giventheabovecriteria,it’sunusual,andremarkablydifficult,forestablishedmarketleaderstopioneer—orevencatchup—withdisruptions.到底谁在牵头搞颠覆,这事重要吗?基于上述的三个标准,让市场中固有的既得利益者做变革的先驱者,甚至说是赶上颠覆的节奏,这种情况不但不常见,而且困难重重。Yetinterestingly,thebig,reputableuniversitiesaretheonesleadingtheMOOCwave.ThisincludesMITandHarvard(throughedX)aswellasStanford,whosegroundbreakingAIcoursemorphedintoUdacity(andwhoseprofessorsindependentlyfoundedCoursera).但很有意思的一点是,现在恰是那些牛哄哄的大学在引领这样一波变革浪潮,这其中就包括MIT和哈佛(通过edX的项目),以及斯坦福,后者的突破性人工智能课程逐渐演变成了今时的Udacity,而斯坦福的教授也自立门户,创建了Coursera。5It’snotthatestablishedplayerscan’tseethedisruptionscoming;theyalmostalwaysdo.Therearejustseveralotherforcesatplaythatcausemarketleaderstoignorethem.Forexample,disruptiveinnovationsdon’tlookthatattractive,profitable,orprestigiousearlyon.Orthecompany’sbestcustomerssignalthattheydon’tcareforthem(atleastinitially).ButuniversitiesarelikelyinvestinginMOOCsnowbecausedisruptiontheoryisfinallywidelyenoughunderstoodthatastuteleadersknowhowtoidentifyandchaseopportunitiesearly.大伙儿可能存在一个普遍误解,即认为那些记得利益者无法预见颠覆的到来,但事实上,他们几乎每次都可以,只是,存在其他的几个因素使得已有的市场领跑者对其疏落。举个例子,颠覆性创新在早期看起来往往不那么诱人、有利可图、或享有很高的声望;也可能,该家公司中最有价值的那部分客户表示对它不感兴趣(起码是在一开始)。但是,现在各个高校倾向于投资MOOC,则是因为历史的一次次重演终于让“颠覆性”理论广为人知,而那些精明的领先者也知道如何在早期就去判断、争取各种机会。Whenestablishedplayerswantto(successfully)catchadisruptivewave,however,theyhavetosetupanautonomousbusinessmodelwithdifferentresources,processes,andpriorities.Otherwise,theverycapabilitiesthatservethemwellintheirtraditionalbusinesscanrepresentliabilitiesintheonethey’redisrupting.ThisishowIBMwasabletogofromthemainframetopersona