I wake up in the morning to the sound of my iPhone alarm; with eyes barely open a New York Times pop-up app updates me on any urgent news, and while checking the weather and my e-mail I am alerted of the day’s birthdays by yet another very helpful app. I glance at Facebook to instantaneously see what my friends have been up to for the past 12 hours as I walk to the kitchen to make coffee. In the span of about two minutes I return to a conscious state and gain all of the information I need for the day, by doing nothing more than a couple of taps.

Digital technology has changed how, when, where and what sort of information we consume, effecting how we obtain knowledge. Free and global accessiblility to information is driving the democratization of knowledge. Various platforms such as the Khan Academy, Academic Earth, and Udacity have begun the conversation; however doesn’t it seem like someone is missing from the discussion? Where are the historic, endowed learning institutions that have been the foundation, source, and impetus of knowledge for the past centuries? Where is their contribution to the start of the academic revolution?