SURFIN' THE WAVE: Stanford University, ground zero of the MOOC craze sweeping across the world though certainly not the first to offer online classes, continues to make big splashes. (Back in January, President John Hennessy was quoted as saying: "I want to be surfing the wave, not drowning in it.") As part of its Stanford Online initiative, the university has appointed computer science professor John Mitchell as its first vice provost of online learning. An estimated fifteen courses will be offered this fall but no guarantee that they will be offered via either Coursera or Udacity, both founded by Stanford profs. The press release mentions two other candidates: Class2Go and Venture Lab. The Stanford Online website, which currently house all of its affiliated online classes and resources, will be undergoing a facelift on Sept. 21.
