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But they don’t answer the question of the role schools play in social development. There is also the question of how to effectively test students outside a sup

by lame88 7y ago

But they don’t answer the question of the role schools play in social development. There is also the question of how to effectively test students outside a supervised exam - online makes cheating plenty easier. And last is how to replace classroom labs which require special equipment. These are not impossible tasks for MOOCs to account for but all that I think these courses have only shown compelling methods of providing instruction and information on-demand and the ability to replay this instruction. School is a lot more than that.

nine_k 7y ago
Social development can also occur online, then go face-to-face when desired. Look at the social bonds people form in online games. You can visit a university for a supervised exam at the end of a course. Exam sessions held even twice a year would allow people studying at different paces plan their time. But you don't need to sit in the lecture halls. You can study where, when, and as much as it fits your life. (I stopped visiting most lectures after the sophomore year; I got an MD w/ honorable mentions nevertheless. I just studied more efficiently by myself.) This system will likely result in your having many diplomas, for each significant course, and maybe a grand diploma for having a set of course diplomas and e.g. doing a master's work. But you can mix and match much more easily, and manage your time more flexibly. The only losing side would be athletes. They'd have to find a different way to organize into minor leagues.
- lame88 7y ago
  You're desscribing a very loosely defined and optimistic view of how things can and will play out. This is like the equivalent of seeing the early stages of bitcoin and deciding we should all ditch all current forms of money for cryptocurrency. I could list out a bunch of ways in which the system "can" work if I felt so optimistic about the idea of the technology just like this, but any points I would make based on my intuition and desires would be put in serious doubt in light of how cryptocurrencies have played out in reality thus far.

by lame88 7y ago

nine_k 7y ago

Social development can also occur online, then go face-to-face when desired. Look at the social bonds people form in online games. You can visit a university for a supervised exam at the end of a course. Exam sessions held even twice a year would allow people studying at different paces plan their time. But you don't need to sit in the lecture halls. You can study where, when, and as much as it fits your life. (I stopped visiting most lectures after the sophomore year; I got an MD w/ honorable mentions nevertheless. I just studied more efficiently by myself.) This system will likely result in your having many diplomas, for each significant course, and maybe a grand diploma for having a set of course diplomas and e.g. doing a master's work. But you can mix and match much more easily, and manage your time more flexibly. The only losing side would be athletes. They'd have to find a different way to organize into minor leagues.

lame88 7y ago
You're desscribing a very loosely defined and optimistic view of how things can and will play out. This is like the equivalent of seeing the early stages of bitcoin and deciding we should all ditch all current forms of money for cryptocurrency. I could list out a bunch of ways in which the system "can" work if I felt so optimistic about the idea of the technology just like this, but any points I would make based on my intuition and desires would be put in serious doubt in light of how cryptocurrencies have played out in reality thus far.