[Vision2020] On the other hand (was: The Trouble With Online College)

[Art Deco]

While not always the case, for the most part basic microeconomics theory
alleges that it is the price of a product, not necessarily its quality,
that determines its demand (sales/use as a practical measure).  For some
products purchased by large organizations, such as governments and large
corporations, political influence/skullduggery can prevail over price or
quality.

The online environment offers tremendous opportunity for delivery of
quality education to many, though not all, students, on many, though not
all subjects.  It is an area where the public should demand quality;
unfortunately it is an area where political influence will most likely be
strongly wielded with some very results as the article at issue alleges.

Another factor must be considered: individual learning styles.  Not
everyone is going to learn well watching a video (or a live lecture).  some
of us learn faster and better by reading and working through material, and
then using lectures as a supplementary resource for reinforcement or
comprehension of difficult material.  It's a matter of using time
effectively.

I took a course as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota from
one of B. F. Skinners most famous disciples entitled Behavioral Theory.
The text was Skinner's *Analysis of Behavior*, a programmed text.  The
professor at the first lecture advised the students to read the text over a
day or two, then take a test.  Those passing the test were excused from the
first half of the course lectures.  I passed the test easily, the text is a
very well designed programmed learning text, but went to the lectures
anyway since they were lively and informative.  The combination of the text
and lectures have stuck with me and served me well.

On the other hand, I have taken many courses where the lectures were less
than stellar to put it mildly, and for some students diminished or killed
their interest in a subject.

Education is complicated -- unlike prostitutes, one size does not fit all.

w.


On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 12:11 PM, Kenneth Marcy <kmmos1 at frontier.com> wrote:

>  On 2/19/2013 6:26 AM, Art Deco wrote:
>
>
>  [image: The New York Times] <http://www.nytimes.com/>
>
> ------------------------------
> February 18, 2013
> The Trouble With Online College
> <[snip]>
>
> The online revolution offers intriguing opportunities for broadening
> access to education. But, so far, the evidence shows that poorly designed
> courses can seriously shortchange the most vulnerable students.
>
>
> On the other hand, there are exceptions to these problems.  For example, I
> know there are local University students who are, in addition to their live
> class attendance and homework, are listening to online lectures from the
> likes of MIT OpenCourseWare in the same subjects in which they are enrolled
> in local classes.
>
> Even some of the locally-prepared on-line courses can be interesting and
> informative.  For example, the U of I English department's English 175,
> Introduction to Genres, seems to be well-received by students to whom it is
> mentioned, and I thought it a worthwhile on-line presentation when I took
> it.  The thick Norton anthology used as a text for that course continues to
> hold more reading material to extend the course should a student elect to
> persist with it.
>
> After a student has some subject-matter foundation, then independent study
> may continue at a student's self-assigned pace.  For example, William
> Shakespeare wrote about 38 plays, which, at the rate of one play per month,
> a person could read, study, and enjoy over a period of just over three
> years.  Such a relaxed schedule will fit into most people's lives
> comfortably, and not seem such a duty-driven exercise as reading all of the
> Bible within a year.
>
> On-line education has a place in the scheme of things, but prerequisite
> preparation better fosters its success, and its utility as preparation for
> subsequent autodidactic activities.
>
>
> Ken
>
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-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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