Giving Compass' Take:

• EdSurge recaps a recent chat about digital learning that discussed how online courses and other nontraditional outlets might disrupt the higher education space.

• The main issue many want to address is the methods by which such educators are regulated. How can we assure more quality control as technology advances and students seek out more classes online?

• Here's more on where massive open online courses stand with new privacy laws.

Could the rise in massive open online course (MOOC)-based and other certificates affect how traditional college degree paths are designed? What role should employers have in the design or execution of digital learning opportunities? Those were a couple of the questions debated at #DLNchat on Tuesday, October 9, when we discussed how nontraditional education providers could influence the future of digital learning.

But first, who are these nontraditional providers? Many #DLNchat-ters define them as MOOC providers including edX and Coursera and bootcamps such as General Assembly and Kenzie Academy. What defines these providers as “nontraditional,” Cali Morrison said, is regulation. She defines nontraditional providers as those who aren’t covered by regional or national accreditation.

The lack of accreditation and regulations in this space brought up a new set of questions for the group: “Do we need to have regulators for these nontraditional providers?” asked Andrew Magda. Sean Gallagher said, “It would be useful if there was more consistency across states, especially given the increasingly online/global or interstate nature of the major providers.” Morrison agreed, but added: “Unfortunately some still look down on national accreditation like it's inferior to regional accreditation. It's the Ivy-perception-gap, in my opinion.”

Read the full article about nontraditional educators influencing digital learning by Michael Sano at EdSurge.