A holiday, and a question for debate

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

First of all, today is International Literacy Day.

September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world.

Some 775 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 60.7 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. (source)

This reminded me that I recently saw a website that advertises some free online courses at some of the best universities in the US. These include video lectures, quizzes, assignments, and of course exams. There is also a sample exam on the website which does not require subscription. It very much resembles MITx, which (correct me if I am wrong), as far as I know is currently the only online course with international accreditation.

The official statement of the website says:
"We offer high quality courses from the top universities, for free to everyone. We currently host courses from Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of Pennsylvania. We are changing the face of education globally, and we invite you to join us."

Obviously, this is not equal to a university degree and still does not have the opportunity to provide certifications that would be valid anywhere, but I think it is a matter of time before they start offering full degrees.

So my questions are these...

1. Could such sort of online courses be a substitute for the traditional form of high education, and if we go further, could there come a time when the majority of students would actually get their degrees through a distance education rather than the traditional form?

2. If that is the case, what would be the possible effect on education? Would that bring fundamental changes to society, or would it just turn out to be another novel form of the same old thing, people barely noticing the difference?

3. And ultimately, is distance education capable of providing the same quality of education (and the same quality of teaching) as the current system? Provided that we consider the current system "good quality" at all?

Needless to say, insights from people who have some experience in the education system would be particularly appreciated.

Meanwhile, I do not think it is a surprise that it is exactly US education institutions that are on the cutting edge of this novelty. A similar phenomenon might be in order in Europe as well, and why not East Asia, as many of these countries prefer to focus very thoroughly on providing free high education. I am sure a large online education program that is valid throughout the entire EU would give opportunity to save lots of funds to the taxpayers, while making high education even more accessible than it is. If done properly, of course. Thoughts?

Comments

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

I don't know about 1 or 2, but I know for a fact that 3 is "yes." Capable, but not guaranteed. My girlfriend got a great education from a self-directed, distance-learning college. It's a bit hippy-dippy, but she managed to do basically graduate-level work in undergrad, and continue that into her graduate studies.

However, that's not the typical outcome. A lot of people do more modest work at the school, or frankly, utter bullshit work. It's got a lot of hippies. Some of the professors actually lightly complained about the volume of work my girlfriend was putting out, when she considered herself to be slacking off a bit. You need a lot of personal drive to make distance education work, unless it's far more structured than what I've been involved in.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure doing your studies at home is as effective as doing it while socializing with other peers of roughly your age. But I could be wrong.

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

I agree that the social aspect of a classroom environment is difficult to duplicate in an on-line class. Still, a significant level of understanding and development can be achieved with on-line resources. For people with a disability or without the means to travel to the school site, remote learning can be very beneficial.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

For people with no other option, yes, it *is* very beneficial. It's like saying, "Are wheelchairs useful for moving around town?" Yes, they are, for the disabled. For those who walk? I'm not so sure, provided they could, you know, walk.

Perhaps it's not the best parallel, but there it is.

I'm not saying it can't be a very useful supplement. It can, and it should be.

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

From my experience, "socializing with other peers" is a distraction to your education, not a boost.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Between that and becoming a sociopath, I'd choose being occasionally distracted by peers any day.

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

The "quiet loner" theory?

What about autistics/aspergers? Introverts? Agorophobics?

Anyway, one can drink at home as well as at college. One's cheaper.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

What about autistics/aspergers? Introverts? Agorophobics?

Indeed (http://talk-politics.livejournal.com/1545317.html?thread=124310117#t124310117).

[terminator44.livejournal.com]

I mean during class. As for after class, there's plenty of ways to keep in contact with your friends.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

700 million out of 7 billion seems remarkably good to me, for some reason. Between 10-12% illiterate? I guess it depends on how you quantify "minimum literacy."

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

The definitions could vary, yes. How about this one (http://www.csulb.edu/library/guide/infocomp.html).

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

If 90% of the population of the Earth met those criteria, I'd be shocked. Absolutely shocked. My gut would put that number at below 30%. I'd love to be proven wrong, however.

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

Me too.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

BTW, to your original point:

I think distance learning is like most learning. You get out of it what you put into it. All learning is a framework, really, and it is always up to the student to attach as much to that framework as they can. For some students, in some situations, distance education can be incredibly powerful and enlightening. For others, it is is a trap of mediocrity or worse. But the exact same thing is true of traditional education. Obviously distance learning can't do everything. Chemistry lab or gross anatomy, where hands on class participation is central, can't be done online. Yet. But for a lot of other classes, I think the quality can be, or can be made to be, quite good. Not that I have personally done any long distance classwork. My college experience ended before the interwebs.

[majortom-thecat.livejournal.com]

I took university classes online when I was taking care of my grandma. She required 24-7 care so I couldn't go out and attend classes. I took courses from two different schools - one a for-profit corporation and the other a traditional university that was offering distance courses on the side. The quality of instruction and the amount of work required varied a lot from course to course in both schools. I didn't like the fact that my education was such an individualistic thing, as opposed to becoming part of an academic community.

I'm currently finishing my bachelor's via distance education, possibly at the same school that a_new_machine described above. I like it because it's very self directed and involves volunteering and working with professional people in my own community instead of sitting at the computer to do everything.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

I think that the actual regulation of such internet schools will probably have to get better. The University of Phoenix, for example, has some pretty extreme ranges in quality.

[nairiporter.livejournal.com]

It's not bad to diversify the scope of education and find new ways to make it accessible where it previously wasn't. I don't think distance education will replace the traditional one, or dominate it, but it will probably be an important addition to the mix.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

1. Could such sort of online courses be a substitute for the traditional form of high education, and if we go further, could there come a time when the majority of students would actually get their degrees through a distance education rather than the traditional form

I'd like us to move toward something closer to this for all education. The one size fits all mentality, I believe, holds us back.

2. If that is the case, what would be the possible effect on education? Would that bring fundamental changes to society, or would it just turn out to be another novel form of the same old thing, people barely noticing the difference?

I think it would result in a lot more specialized knowledge, and perhaps increase our experts. It does run a significant risk of having fewer rounded individuals, however, which is something we need to protect against.

3. And ultimately, is distance education capable of providing the same quality of education (and the same quality of teaching) as the current system? Provided that we consider the current system "good quality" at all?

There's the issue, I think - the current system needs to be nuked, and I'm open to any sort of ideas that can decentralize the education process.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

the current system needs to be nuked,

Because it clearly has a liburl bias!!

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Damn educators and their liberalism. I blame the unions.

(YES, THIS IS SARCASM)

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

NO SHIT!

*does the robbo dance*

[telemann.livejournal.com]

It's a fantastic way to learn. My brother's wive earned her business degree from St. Leo's University. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Leo_University). She was so proud of earning her degree, she flew down to Florida to graduate in person.

[harry-beast.livejournal.com]

Q1:
I think that online education can be complementary to traditional bricks and mortar education, but it is not a substitute. For straightforward lectures, exercises and individual learning, online courses are probably just as effective, but far more affordable and convenient. For seminars, discussions, research and immersion in an academic environment, traditional methods are more effective. I could see a time when students build an academic foundation through distance learning and satellite campuses, then go to the big schools for one or two terms at a time to consolidate and build their knowledge and academic skills. This would make the best use of university facilities and professors, which would increase the capacity of the higher education system.

Q2:
One effect on education is that students could try out various programs of study before committing to relocating, paying high tuition fees and taking out big loans. Taking a few lower level courses would better equip them to make good decisions about what to study, and result in fewer students dropping out, wasting time, money and capacity. Better availability of free or nearly free educational resources would expand educational opportunities all around, but only for those with the personal drive to do it on their own time. Many would not bother, but over time, I think that more and more would take the plunge and that it would be a gain for society.

Q3a:
In my experience (undergrad+2 graduate degrees), distance education is capable of providing the same quality of education for about 40-60% of the course work. Naturally, it depends on the program.
Q3b:
Quality isn't really measured in any systematic and objective manner in the current system. Putting courses online could improve some aspects of quality, like consistency, accuracy and completeness of course content. For the face to face component of education, online courses may be inadequate, at least until we develop HAL 9000-like AI computers that can talk to students.