This blog is a continuation of reflection that began in ADLT 640. Now as we are beginning our coursework in 641, I am once again struck the depth of knowledge available for today’s student. I don’t consider myself all that removed from my undergraduate days (10 years), but the differences for our learner’s today in comparison to just a decade ago is mind boggling. The day’s of dogmatic teaching where the professor was the sage keeper and all knowing feel centuries old. However, I clearly remember being taught this way.
With the internet now being so readily available, knowledge is at our fingertips. I am an owner of a smart phone, and recently had a discussion with a peer about how she doesn’t see the value. I responded with the various things that had made my life easier and freed up time just the day before. I was able to look up a location that we were driving, get directions, verify the hours that it was open, and a quick glance at my email all in about 10 minutes. The drive in the car had made my three young children sleepy and so while they rested and I waited for them to wake up, I was able to send out an email that was work related, went on facebook, check blackboard and read my syllabus, make some appointments and add them to my calendar. These activities were simple web based ones. They barely brushed the opportunities out there.
This week in 641 we were reintroduced to the concept of open online courses, however this past week we went into much more depth. This is a movement gaining exponential momentum. Students now have access to lectures, class information, assessments, faculty, and feedback from experts in fields. Some of these include Coursera and Mitx. Coursera is sixteen prestigious universities coming together and offering their courses on their platform. Mitx is a subset of MIT with a similar context of offering their courses online to the greater community. Various figures discuss thousands of students now enrolling and participating in these learning activities.
With the parallel of the rising costs of higher education and increasing student debt, it is evident that a change in our concept and delivery of education is needed. Our current system is not sustainable. Students graduating in debt more than twice their entry level salary in a position that may or may not even be available is saddling our young.
At the same time, the connection of the web allows these opportunities to come to the forefront. The internet gives the common man a voice. I’ve spent a great deal of time wondering exactly why organizations such as MIT would offer online learning opportunities. Some reasons which MITx make sense:
1) It offers them the ability to see exactly how learners engage online.
They are able to fine tune their own courses offered at MIT and move towards a more web based campus. Their open courses allow for their own study in essence. They can analyze exactly how the students engage with the online course, learn, and perform. Through this they can fine tune before they offer it at MIT
2) It is a move to help the common good.
3) It is an inevitable direction that higher education is going, why not be in the forefront?
Learning Today 