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The web is possibly the greatest invention of the 20th century and has certainly democratized the way the human race shares knowledge but I don't think online e

The web is possibly the greatest invention of the 20th century and has certainly democratized the way the human race shares knowledge but I don't think online education can ever become a better or more competitive option than traditional offline education. There are unique cases where each is better than the other but I cannot see one overtaking the other. At best I think online education could become almost equal to traditional education but never a more popular or better option. Consider those living in countries where web access is still rare or slow or a challenge to access. Online education isn't viable for these people though it may be in the future. There is no substitute for being educated in the presence of a professor and a room full of students. You could email, IM, video conference, or voice call all day long but web based education takes a bit of the humanity out of the whole experience and it's importance should not be underestimated. Online education makes things more rigid in some ways. An instructor prepares lessons as usual, teaches, then receives feedback from students in the form of questions and their scores on assignments and tests just like usual but theres an advantage to being present in a room full of students. That advantage is that it is far easier to tell if students are catching on and if one or more students are struggling to understand certain concepts then it's easier to sort of improvise and immediately find out and address the cause of any sort of problem. Individual attention suffers with online learning. You can still give individual attention but for many, having someone there makes all the difference. That said, there are just as many benefits to online learning and I have to say, I don't believe one is better than the other, just that they're different and that I don't think either will become endangered any time soon. As someone who went to but did not finish a prestigious university, I think online education should only be sought out in certain circumstances. The experiences you have when attending a traditional university are priceless and cannot be had online. Those experiences aren't part of any curriculum but are an important part of forming the person you will become after graduation. Online education seems, at least to me, better for those needing a cheaper alternative to traditional education. Also those who are unable to physically attend a university due to, again, cost constraints, or their location would also seem to be a good fit as well as those folks who are older, need a more flexible schedule, have difficulty learning in a classroom, and others. I've dome online and traditional education. They compliment each other well and both offer certain things the other doesn't but given the hypothetical choice of choosing all of one and none of the other, I'd take the traditional experience any day. The web is the most incredible thing that's happened to us since the Enlightenment probably but it isn't the cure to all mankind's ills. Online education is certainly a viable alternative to a traditional education but I still don't see it being able to rival or outmatch a traditional education. There are intangibles that come with a traditional education that have no on,one counterpart. So I doubt traditional schools have anything to fear and truly hope they don't.

chimpinee 14y ago
Some of the negative aspects of schooling: Destruction of creativity, obedience, deferring to authority, loss of time, loss of identity, bullying, inability to pursue subjects in depth, learning to self-censor, second-rate materials, not being allowed to read, not being allowed to talk, have to ask permission to go to the bathroom, learning to tease those who fail to self-censor, everybody trying sooo hard to be normal, belief that exams measure knowledge, being put off math for life, inability to learn during adulthood, etc.
- bpatrianakos 14y ago
  I think some of those aren't bad. It seems like a few of those points are things that you maybe had a hard time coping with or know someone who has and so now you're saying this is a negative consequence of schooling. Learning to self-censor is a good thing. It doesn't mean you stop thinking independently, it just means you learn what's appropriate to say to whom, and how, and when, and where, etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and is an important part of developing as a person. We can't go around saying "hi, I think you're fat" when we meet someone overweight and then applaud it because self-censorship is bad. Kinda lame example but you know what I mean. Trying to be normal and fit in is also an important part of growing up. Because I don't know any better, this point makes it sound like you're promoting non-conformity for the sake of non-conformity. You can be normal and still be unique. We live in the real world and learning how to choose groups to be accepted by and subsequently fitting in with them is an essential skill all humans need to learn. I personally am lacking in that skill so I have lots of awkward social interactions at work and other places. It's not a good thing and I wish I did learn to be normal. I can still be myself when its appropriate but sometimes you there's nothing wrong with just fitting in. Learning how to handle teasing (regardless of whether you are being teased or doing the teasing) is, once again, an important part of developing as a person. These three points you list are not negatives of schooling at all and they are just as prevalent outside of an educational environment as they are within one. Furthermore, being exposed to these things and subsequently learning how to cope with them makes you a more well rounded person. People who don't go through these experiences and don't develop these social skills will have a harder time out in the real world than those who have. It's my personal belief that people who tend to spend lots of time online (particularly the stereotypical nerd gamers and coders) have a hard time socially partially because they have avoided situations where they would have to learn to self-censor, be teased, tease someone else, trying to fit it. There are other factors but learning how to get through these challenges would probably help them a bit. Now, you do make some good point about second-rate materials. The belief that exams measure knowledge is also highly debatable and probably false too, I'll grant you that. That said, the rest of your points sound more like a rejection of authority than anything that's detrimental to people. There's nothing wrong to deferring to authority. We live in a civilized society and there's a structure to it. The key is learning when its justified to stand up to authority. I can see you're coming from a sincere place but I just can't get behind you on this. It seems more like you're ant-authority for the sake of being anti-authority and nothing more.

chimpinee 14y ago

Some of the negative aspects of schooling: Destruction of creativity, obedience, deferring to authority, loss of time, loss of identity, bullying, inability to pursue subjects in depth, learning to self-censor, second-rate materials, not being allowed to read, not being allowed to talk, have to ask permission to go to the bathroom, learning to tease those who fail to self-censor, everybody trying sooo hard to be normal, belief that exams measure knowledge, being put off math for life, inability to learn during adulthood, etc.

bpatrianakos 14y ago
I think some of those aren't bad. It seems like a few of those points are things that you maybe had a hard time coping with or know someone who has and so now you're saying this is a negative consequence of schooling. Learning to self-censor is a good thing. It doesn't mean you stop thinking independently, it just means you learn what's appropriate to say to whom, and how, and when, and where, etc. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and is an important part of developing as a person. We can't go around saying "hi, I think you're fat" when we meet someone overweight and then applaud it because self-censorship is bad. Kinda lame example but you know what I mean. Trying to be normal and fit in is also an important part of growing up. Because I don't know any better, this point makes it sound like you're promoting non-conformity for the sake of non-conformity. You can be normal and still be unique. We live in the real world and learning how to choose groups to be accepted by and subsequently fitting in with them is an essential skill all humans need to learn. I personally am lacking in that skill so I have lots of awkward social interactions at work and other places. It's not a good thing and I wish I did learn to be normal. I can still be myself when its appropriate but sometimes you there's nothing wrong with just fitting in. Learning how to handle teasing (regardless of whether you are being teased or doing the teasing) is, once again, an important part of developing as a person. These three points you list are not negatives of schooling at all and they are just as prevalent outside of an educational environment as they are within one. Furthermore, being exposed to these things and subsequently learning how to cope with them makes you a more well rounded person. People who don't go through these experiences and don't develop these social skills will have a harder time out in the real world than those who have. It's my personal belief that people who tend to spend lots of time online (particularly the stereotypical nerd gamers and coders) have a hard time socially partially because they have avoided situations where they would have to learn to self-censor, be teased, tease someone else, trying to fit it. There are other factors but learning how to get through these challenges would probably help them a bit. Now, you do make some good point about second-rate materials. The belief that exams measure knowledge is also highly debatable and probably false too, I'll grant you that. That said, the rest of your points sound more like a rejection of authority than anything that's detrimental to people. There's nothing wrong to deferring to authority. We live in a civilized society and there's a structure to it. The key is learning when its justified to stand up to authority. I can see you're coming from a sincere place but I just can't get behind you on this. It seems more like you're ant-authority for the sake of being anti-authority and nothing more.