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Given how many colleges and universities already put their full syllabus online for free, lowering the price seems like an obvious thing since distance learning

by ksaj 6y ago

Given how many colleges and universities already put their full syllabus online for free, lowering the price seems like an obvious thing since distance learning greatly reduces the instructor's workload.

musicale 6y ago
> distance learning greatly reduces the instructor's workload citation needed?
- Topgamer7 6y ago
  Hold up lemme look for a wikipedia article, I can cite that right?
anon946 6y ago
I teach synchronously online, and the workload is pretty much the same. I think distance/online learning covers a wide variety, and I can see how it could be taught in a way that reduced the workload. I don't disagree, though, that online education is not as good as in-person, regardless of how it's done.
CodeArtisan 6y ago
So far there is only one online course that actually delivers a bachelor degree in computer science. You have to pay +$13 000 https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-london https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-compute...
- ksaj 6y ago
  I didn't know you could get degrees through Coursera. That's cool. Here are a bunch of other online bachelors in CS: https://thebestschools.org/rankings/best-online-bachelors-computer-science/ https://thebestschools.org/rankings/best-online-bachelors-co... Is $13,000 unreasonable? It would cost a whole lot more than that if you went for an on-site bachelors at say, UWaterloo.
welkie 6y ago
> distance learning greatly reduces the instructor's workload Disagree based on my experience tutoring online. I had to prep and then spend my time with them on webcam. The story is different for asynchronous online learning, for example with students watching prerecorded videos and completing assignments. However, not everyone learns well that way. We'll probably need a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning going forward.
- ksaj 6y ago
  Agreed, depending on context. I have taken a number of online courses through Lynda (now: LinkedIn Learning) and Santa Fe Institute's Complexity Explorer, and the format suits me well. But for university and college, I imagine there would be a need for at least some human interaction beyond the bi-monthly fireside chats SFI put on for their students. Half of the classes I took at Ryerson University were online. The instructors were only there for feedback, questions, and grading, and even then, only through email or a text chat. It was definitely an easy period for them. Tutoring is a different beast since by definition it requires a lot of interaction.
  - egberts1 6y ago
    My spouse is a professor at a large university. Her time is spent setting up virtual classrooms, online office hours (there’s more hours there), grading online, preparing/producing videos and configuring and using their many interactive tools. If anything, I see less of her due to her workload and she works from home while I live in it. It’s not easier than brick-n-mortar. It’s a whole new approach.

by ksaj 6y ago

musicale 6y ago

> distance learning greatly reduces the instructor's workload citation needed?

Topgamer7 6y ago
Hold up lemme look for a wikipedia article, I can cite that right?

anon946 6y ago

I teach synchronously online, and the workload is pretty much the same. I think distance/online learning covers a wide variety, and I can see how it could be taught in a way that reduced the workload. I don't disagree, though, that online education is not as good as in-person, regardless of how it's done.

CodeArtisan 6y ago

So far there is only one online course that actually delivers a bachelor degree in computer science. You have to pay +$13 000 https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-london https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-compute...

ksaj 6y ago
I didn't know you could get degrees through Coursera. That's cool. Here are a bunch of other online bachelors in CS: https://thebestschools.org/rankings/best-online-bachelors-computer-science/ https://thebestschools.org/rankings/best-online-bachelors-co... Is $13,000 unreasonable? It would cost a whole lot more than that if you went for an on-site bachelors at say, UWaterloo.

welkie 6y ago

> distance learning greatly reduces the instructor's workload Disagree based on my experience tutoring online. I had to prep and then spend my time with them on webcam. The story is different for asynchronous online learning, for example with students watching prerecorded videos and completing assignments. However, not everyone learns well that way. We'll probably need a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning going forward.

ksaj 6y ago
Agreed, depending on context. I have taken a number of online courses through Lynda (now: LinkedIn Learning) and Santa Fe Institute's Complexity Explorer, and the format suits me well. But for university and college, I imagine there would be a need for at least some human interaction beyond the bi-monthly fireside chats SFI put on for their students. Half of the classes I took at Ryerson University were online. The instructors were only there for feedback, questions, and grading, and even then, only through email or a text chat. It was definitely an easy period for them. Tutoring is a different beast since by definition it requires a lot of interaction.
- egberts1 6y ago
  My spouse is a professor at a large university. Her time is spent setting up virtual classrooms, online office hours (there’s more hours there), grading online, preparing/producing videos and configuring and using their many interactive tools. If anything, I see less of her due to her workload and she works from home while I live in it. It’s not easier than brick-n-mortar. It’s a whole new approach.