Behold the Rubens Tube

This is a neat little physics experiment that made me think about how radically education has changed to favour the autodidact today. Places like http://cnx.org/ (Connexions) are redefining education and delivering it freely to people. Which makes me start to question the place of our institutions like univesities and schools. Whilst they are still obviously important, how should our qualifications be assessed? How should education be assessed?