The recents posts and news of universities using platforms like SL to hold classes began to make me wonder about the new chapter of education. We currently sit at a university that is sorely underfunded (at least I know CLAS is) and are finding that more and more people will be prevented from attended college as financial situations become grimer, less scholarships are given, and programs like Bright Futures are cut. I was told as a child that education was a privilage, not a right and I should take my education seriously. It was explained to me that every class I cut was a waste of roughly $78.00 - tuition paid and not used. As a result, I was actually sent home from multiple classes when ill. I once had a prof ask me exactly how high my fever was, and I said, "Not much over 103," - that prof didn't send me home, she had security escort me to the infirmary. Apparently pnuemonia is a good reason to miss class, who knew? lol. When universities such as Pheonix Online came into existence, I dismissed them as not having real educational potential (yes, small minded I know), but now the value of that degree is increasing and people are beginning to accept that you don't neccesarily have to give up your job and home to go to school. In today's world, finding work without a degree is becoming harder. My husband has a GED by choice and even he who often picks on me for making almost no money while he's the breadwinner (in terms of my number of years in school vs. his few) has admitted that had he not fallen into the position he holds he would never have been successful without a college degree. So what are those without means of supporting themselves to do? I can currently purchase a nice trailer on a small plot land with my student loan debt (I prefer to think in terms of what I could get with it, not the dollar amount, that scares me lol).
Yes education is a privilage, not everyone has equal access to it. But why shouldn't they? Technically, they can get as good an education through a source like SL - does it really matter that the slide show is on SL, not in a lecture hall? What do you guys think? Is this the new wave of education? Will it devalue our own educations? Will it make our thousands of dollars of education seem foolish? Will Universities demand 20k in Lindens a semester?
7 comments:
Considering how 99% of kids have ADD now (grin) I don't think SL can effectively replace classroom presence. It helps a lot to be stuck in a room where you have to keep quiet and are distractions are few.
I've never heard anyone say they thought their web-based courses were anywhere near as effective or rewarding as the real deal.
I think my idea is that the web based courses such as found at St. Leo's or even at UF that do not have a classroom component (distance learning) are being considered just as effective, in fact occassionally more so. A friend of mind recently recieved her degree from St. Leo's as well as her teaching certification. Another friend will be teaching for a community college to the south and was given the option of a course in a classroom or teaching it online if she preferred. I think there is a movement in this direction. What do you think that movement will be?
When I took online classes I felt more compelled to cheat on test. I definitely didn't take it as seriously as the other courses, but maybe that was because the class I took was like Phys Ed or something.
Our own UF has awarded the nation's first Ph.D. online in Classical Studies. How long before other disciplines follow and make more advanced degrees available online? Also, other UF colleges (i.e., Pharmacy) have been awarding online degrees for some time now.
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/events/news/articles/20080216-mcclister.html
As for online courses vs. the real deal, there is still plenty of disagreement in science education. Literature exists to support both sides of the argument. For example, can a student successfully learn chemistry online in a virtual lab or must they gain hands-on experience and make first-person observations? Other factors such as safety and cost can be significant factors in a move to online education.
I think the SL may not totally display a lecture hall because I believe instantaneous class has many advantages. For example, students have questions and immediately raise their hands, the instructor can solve their problems so that the instructor can know what may confuse the students and students can more easily understand the following materials. However, SL class also have its advantages, for instance, students can review the class materials many time instead of a heavy textbook with boring words. The SL may help build a picture or connection to let students clearly and easily memorize. So my point is that the education may appear more and more ways so the students can find the best one or ones for their own.
Although I was technically a face-to-face student I took at least 3/4 of my master's classes at UF online (mostly from Ed Tech). It was my only option, they don't offer all the courses face to face. Some of those online classes were engaging, rewarding, rigorous, and all around good classes. Some of them were easy and boring. In other words, they were just like face-to-face classes.
I am a proponent of online education, but I think it has to be done correctly to be effective. The best online classes I took were the ones that took advantage of the web features to balance interaction between students, varied assignments and activities, and a meaningful presence from the instructor (to name a few). Online classes shouldn't look like face to face classes because you can do things in them that you can't do face-to-face. Yes, a screen in a virtual lecture hall is the same as a screen in a real lecture hall, but why would you just lecture online when you could do so much more? What scares me is that there are a lot of low-quality, watered down online programs that are being put together quickly to make money, not to provide effective education.
As we move into an increasingly more digitized future many people feel that the role of the teacher and the classroom will greatly diminish. While I see roles changing I believe that the classroom and teacher will continue to play a primary role in educating. The key will be in knowing how to balance face-to-face with virtual learning experiences in order to take advantage of the best features of both. So while blended instruction may be ideal, online education is a fine alternative. However, I think it becomes more worthwhile the further along you are in your education (i.e. Elementary online classes = bad idea, graduate school online = reasonable idea).
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