Apr 04 2009
Online vs traditional university
Patricia, over at the Communication Exchange got me to thinking today. She wrote an article about The Communication Connection Between Newspapers and Universities that raises the question of whether colleges and universities are headed the way of newspapers…. will they, too, be offered almost entirely in an online format? And if so, what will we lose as a result?
Don Tapcott, author of grown up digital , which is quickly becoming one of my most oft-quoted books, is very clear that the research done by his group shows that digital generations have very different values and expectations than those who came along before the technology. They have shorter attention spans, for starters - and they want things when they want them, and most importantly HOW they want them.
They take technology for granted …. and they know that they can use it to get what they want when they want and how they want it - so they are less likely to be willing to jump through the hoops that come from bad or pre-technology design or from tradition.
grown up digital should be required reading for anyone interested or involved in teaching - and also for parents, and anyone in business that would like to stay in business over the long haul, for that matter! It really is well worth the investment.
Anyway …. back to the topic…
As Patricia rightly notes in her article , “for every improvement society makes comes loss” - and moving away from traditional on-site colleges and universities is no exception.
For me, as much as I love my computer and the Internet, there is little doubt that I learn far better in a traditional learning environment. I need the interactions, the face to face time with classmates and professors, the challenges of having to speak my ideas out loud in the group before they are fully formed and ready to write.
I learn from my peers, and often it is a thought or question that someone else raises that gets me going off in new directions (I am called flit for a reason, after all 
) I can DO online courses - and do very well in them - but they have so far been much less productive, overall.
But then, I am clearly too old to have grown up digital - so my experiences don’t really count for much, do they? Although, given that I seem to be the biggest techno-geek in my cohort, perhaps they do :)
Anyway ….I would love to know what you think would be the benefits - and pitfalls - of moving towards online educational offerings and away from traditional post secondary settings.
And seriously - you should buy the book! (And nope, this is not a paid advertisement, and I don’t receive any $$ if you do buy it - I just think it is a really important resource)
I have zero trouble learning on line. I usually get as much from reading a textbook as any course I’ve ever taken. Most of the things I learned best were self-taught.
However, I’m not likely typical.
There are more lessons to be learned at University than the course materials. For many students it may be the first time they are away from home, away from their circle who hold the same values, away from the restrictions of others. They have to learn to set priorities, their own values, to accept those of different backgrounds and cultures, and so much more. These may be just side benefits but for some students they are as important, perhaps even more important, than learning the subject.
I also think that the dynamics of other students and the teacher plays an important role in how they view subjective matter.
I think for the undergraduate student it is important for them to have on campus classroom experience. Like flemesia mentions, there is so much more to the on campus experience than just what you learn in the classroom. However, I think that once a person has gone through that experience, it is not so important. I would be very surprised if all courses became on line because there are many people who just would not fare well with online coursework - they *need* the classroom setting.
I have returned to college after having graduated 15 years ago. My employer is sending me off to learn web design/development. I much prefer the traditional classroom where you can interact with other students and your instructor in a live, face-to-face situation. I am realizing that it is difficult for me to get the courses I want and need from the traditional college as these colleges are geared for the full time student and not somebody that works a full time job and is taking one or two courses at a time. I have ran into so many scheduling issues trying to get classes, and have traveled around to several colleges in the area. I am leaning toward the online education - for the convenience and the fact they seem to be more flexible with schedules, etc. I have not experienced online education - it will be the first and I know I may struggle with it due to the fact that I am on dial-up internet.
ick! dial up would make life more difficult…but if nothing else, it will force you to design sites that aren’t hell on those that are stuck with it!
I used to teach a night class in web development - had a couple of students that did most of it from home/online… just was more convenient for them….and as long as they had the textbook and some self discipline - and were willing to let me know when they needed help, since I had no other way of knowing - they did well even though the course was, at that point, not meant to be online delivery.
I’ve tried online education and it just didn’t work with me. I believe that if a classroom chat was set up instead of forums then it would be beneficial for most.
Forums are great for communication but I hate waiting hours to bounce an idea off of another student because they currently are not online.
A mixture of traditional and online learning is great. Testing, test scores, assignments, and video clips work great in this setting. I just think that there is a better connection in communication and learning inside a traditional classroom.
And while not on topic, I just wanted to say thanks for advertising on Relating Today.
Chats would definitely be more immediate - if you could find a time that worked… I know some courses do have an actual class time when people are supposed to log online and participate - none of the ones I did had any of that… in fact, none of them had ANY interaction with other students.