MIT Ushers in New Era, 11 Years Ago

I can plainly see why Wiley includes the video from a 2001 press conference at MIT as the first resource in the OpenCourseWare section of his Open course.  Within the first five minutes of watching, it's clear that not only has MIT been versing themselves in 'all things open' for much longer than anyone else, but they also understood OpenCourseWare and it's value well before anyone was talking about "openness" in the context of offering curriculum.
According to then MIT President, Charles Vest, OpenCourseWare (OCW)  is a "natural marriage of American higher ed and the capabilities of the world wide web" (April 2001)
According to faculty at MIT, OCW combines two things: the traditional outreach of American education, and the internet.  Together, they make vast amounts of information readily available to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Since the video was filmed in 2001, I can't exactly use the words "revolutionary," or "cutting-edge" to describe OCW, but that's exactly what MIT is, both then and now.
According to the faculty panelists at the press conference, MIT views the OCW project as a solution to an engineering problem they've been struggling with for some time: The problem, or question, is how to  create and disseminate new knowledge openly, under the MIT name, and using the MIT brand, without upsetting those who pay to use that brand, ie, tuition paying students and families.
In response to questions like that, the faculty on the panel drew several analogies that I found helpful in terms of understanding OpenCourseWare in general and the concepts that drive it. According to one faculty member, "raw material is not true education."  OCW isn't replacing traditional course work at MIT. According to the faculty panelists, a "true" MIT education comes from the interaction of the students with faculty, students with students, students with lab work and equipment, facilities, community, etc.
Another way to think of OCW is as a publication, rather than a form of distance learning. It's material; not instruction.
By the end of the video, the concept of OCW was clear to me, but so was the benefit of it - not only to MIT, but to any institution willing to offer it. The benefit is intangible, and therefore, arguable, but I see the benefit (and so does MIT, and they are all pretty smart folks) in the relationships that a place like MIT can forge, solidify, and gain from, with OCW. By offering it, they are enhancing their relationships with a larger educational community, both within the institution and around the globe.
In summary, the recognition comes at a cost much cheaper than tuition.