King Canute famously failed to hold back the waves when he had his throne placed on the beach and ordered the sea to retreat.Are traditionalists doomed to similar failure in trying to hold back the technological tide that threatens to wash away the time-honoured, classroom-based MBA?The 11th-century English king was not the dunce history has made him out to be. The beach exercise was his idea, to prove to fawning courtiers that he was not the all-powerful being they claimed.Some 21st-century educationists feel a similar sense of helplessness in the face of uncontrollable powers.The Internet has had a profound impact on business education. Once, MBA students were required to spend days, weeks, even months in the classroom. Now, thanks to online access, they can find most of the relevant information online using computers, tablets and smartphones. They don’t need to be on the same continent as the lecturer, never mind in the same room.But is there a danger this wave of online teaching...
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