3 ms·

I was the owner for a number of years of a private College. One thing that became obvious to me was that the student population could be divided into two genera

by yannis 17y ago

I was the owner for a number of years of a private College. One thing that became obvious to me was that the student population could be divided into two general classes. Students that 'needed to be taught' and students that were self-learners. I personally fall into the latter part and although I attended University up to Ph.D, I hardly attended lectures. Whatever, I learned, I learned on my own from books. You can self-teach yourself if you want but at the moment the web might not provide you with the correct structured education. I am also currently working on a prototype for an online education site. Current problems that we have not resolved include things like how much interactivity with teachers we should provide and recognition of qualifications. Open courses by traditional means and mix media are almost offered by all Universities. However, the one element which is so difficult to replicate on the web is the College vibe and the real interaction with people. Any ideas how to inject such vibe into a website would be very much appreciated :)

aik 17y ago
"One thing that became obvious to me was that the student population could be divided into two general classes. Students that 'needed to be taught' and students that were self-learners." Is this a fair classification? I have a theory: A lot of or all 'needed to be taught' students simply are that way because of lack of interest or trust in themselves. Once they find inspiration, they would become a self-learner. A "natural self-learner" is as such because they have found their learning method and it WORKS. Schools tend to these people, while others who don't learn from the similar method become discouraged when they try the same thing and aren't as successful. At this point they become 'needed to be taught' students. What do you think? "Current problems that we have not resolved include things like how much interactivity with teachers we should provide and recognition of qualifications." Could you describe what you mean by "interactivity with teachers"? Will your site follow the student-teacher classroom model? Are you trying to figure out how to create the interaction between teachers and students? "recognition of qualifications." For teachers?
- yannis 17y ago
  Yes one of the problems sometimes is lack of interest and self-confidence. This second group of students even tend to study for exams with a 'buddy' or perhaps they are more social animals than the rest of us and their 'mimicry' genes are stronger! We've been thinking to follow the student/teacher model partly and also allow teachers to enrol their normal student class for an online course. I am also hoping to add some method so that students can earn 'karma' for completing a course as well as helping and or answering questions from other students. The intention of the 'qualification part' is that once you have amassed 10000 karma points the student will get a diploma that is equivalent to a BSc. The recognition part comes from the job market accepting this as a proper qualification.
roundsquare 17y ago
A weird idea, but it might work if you get big enough... something like the HN gatherings people have? I realize it would be tough when you get started, but eventually it could become something where the classes are online for convenience but you setup fairly regular meetings. It might be wholly impractical but just a random thought.
- yannis 17y ago
  Thanks weird=potential!

by yannis 17y ago

aik 17y ago

"One thing that became obvious to me was that the student population could be divided into two general classes. Students that 'needed to be taught' and students that were self-learners." Is this a fair classification? I have a theory: A lot of or all 'needed to be taught' students simply are that way because of lack of interest or trust in themselves. Once they find inspiration, they would become a self-learner. A "natural self-learner" is as such because they have found their learning method and it WORKS. Schools tend to these people, while others who don't learn from the similar method become discouraged when they try the same thing and aren't as successful. At this point they become 'needed to be taught' students. What do you think? "Current problems that we have not resolved include things like how much interactivity with teachers we should provide and recognition of qualifications." Could you describe what you mean by "interactivity with teachers"? Will your site follow the student-teacher classroom model? Are you trying to figure out how to create the interaction between teachers and students? "recognition of qualifications." For teachers?

yannis 17y ago
Yes one of the problems sometimes is lack of interest and self-confidence. This second group of students even tend to study for exams with a 'buddy' or perhaps they are more social animals than the rest of us and their 'mimicry' genes are stronger! We've been thinking to follow the student/teacher model partly and also allow teachers to enrol their normal student class for an online course. I am also hoping to add some method so that students can earn 'karma' for completing a course as well as helping and or answering questions from other students. The intention of the 'qualification part' is that once you have amassed 10000 karma points the student will get a diploma that is equivalent to a BSc. The recognition part comes from the job market accepting this as a proper qualification.

roundsquare 17y ago

A weird idea, but it might work if you get big enough... something like the HN gatherings people have? I realize it would be tough when you get started, but eventually it could become something where the classes are online for convenience but you setup fairly regular meetings. It might be wholly impractical but just a random thought.

yannis 17y ago
Thanks weird=potential!