1. JR Mason | 04.21.09

I consider myself very tech-savvy for a fellow in late middle-age, but don’t think the trends toward more are particularly healthy. South Korea, with one of the most tech-savvy populations in the world, is trying to cope with a variety of asocial and anti-social problems stemming from kids that are too wired. We need social interaction. That’s not a cliche. It’s an axiom. People learn better in an environment where there is human exchange. I’ve taken online and, in my earlier life, courses by mail to fill one requirement, or another. They’re just not as good as classroom courses. They never will be. I think the professors quoted in this article are talking about a sales and marketing issue. Give ‘em what they want, because they’re too lazy to get up and attend a class! I don’t agree. I will never agree that giving kids what they want is best for them. Who are the experienced adults in this country, anyway? Whose in charge?

2. Justin Ratcliff | 04.21.09

JR Mason brings up some valid points. I would add that the North American model of higher education is more interested in making money than educating the society it operates in, thus the $140 text books and all those fee’s, student loans that shackle people in debt before they’ve even graduated. Since they operate like a business, A little competition is precisely what this institution needs to better serve the customers that support its existence.

That being said, I can’t imagine someone having an internet degree would ever have an advantage over someone with a degree from a sit down and shut up University. Part of the reason for going to a physical institution is all the networking opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be available.

3. Joshua Cranmer | 04.21.09

As a current college student and someone who has taken an online course before, I can honestly say that I’d be dismayed at this trend. Online courses simply can’t offer everything that brick-and-mortar institutions can. One can easily do an online class for, say, history, but could you imagine a generation of chemistry researchers who never performed complex organic synthesis during their studies? Or perhaps painters who have never touched a paintbrush?

There are plenty of things that cannot be done on a computer or over the internet. Trying to take notes in a math course or a chemistry course on a computer is extremely difficult–now imagine having to take your major quizzes and tests on such media. And there are other technical impracticalities with such online quizzes.

Another problem is the environment. My interaction with the teacher in the online geometry course I had to take was extremely limited. I’m quite sure we spent much more time in that class finding online video games or other forms of goofing around instead of actually studying geometry.

A final problem is that overall quality of materials will probably suffer. There is an adage that “you get what you pay for”: if textbooks and course materials are free, what incentive is there to improve them?

4. J Doran | 04.21.09

I have taken very effective online courses at my University and there was plenty of interaction. The Professor and all the students had a web-cam, head-set, and speedy internet connection. The professor could see and hear all the students and vice-versa in real time. Furthermore we the students could see the professor’s desktop as well as every keystroke he made. He wrote notes on his tablet PC as he lectured and we could at any time ask a question. Traditional Universities will not disappear anytime soon but more and more we will see our school embracing this and I would not be surprised if there was at least one “online University” that went beyond today’s standards (Phenix University) and directly competed with our nations top schools.

5. KAP | 04.21.09

I am an former undergraduate student (class of 2008) and what I have found that has worked very well for me is the option of hybrid courses. That is a course in which much of the route work (lecturing, reading assignments) was orchestrated online while classes were held less frequently and were more focused on questions and ideas that the the online portion had generated. This class format allowed me to hold down a job which created a great opportunity post graduation. Through this class format I gained more from what the class had to offer. This is the future of education, no longer will undergrads have to wake up for the 8am calculus lecture (which most did not make or would sleep through once they got there) but instead will be able to tackle the material in a schedule that is more fitting to there learning style.

6. JMiller | 04.22.09

If all that institutions of higher learning were about is memorzing information required to perform a job function, then I would argue that trendy technology or direct interaction with people are not even needed at all. All that is needed is a textbook (paper or electronic) and a means of testing. My university experience taught me much much more than what is learned from textbooks, and much of it occurred not only in the classroom, but also in the campus environment. My alma mater was where I learned to stand on my own two feet. It provided me with activities and interactions with people who helped make me who I am today. It provided a much needed transition from high school to career and allowed me the time and space to contemplate aspects of life that I otherwise would not have. There is something very special about being even temporarily part of a campus community. The author’s prediction may come true, but only at a great loss.

7. Roy Jones | 04.22.09

Higher education is more about leftist indoctrination, sex and beer than about thinking and learning. Let college kids get their remedial high school training online, and have human exchange where it matters most: with their families, their employers and their real friends.

8. TW Fidler | 04.22.09

This is great we need to use this technology to its fullest not everyone have the freedom or money to attend a brick and mortar school.
all so any teacher / professor with smarts wants to be paid so this could scare them as knowledge online can change from day to day and freedom afforded students to learn at any time could make them less needed,but then again a nice web cam and a pay pal to attend lecture and tests could make classroom space unlimited “the sky is the limit $$$$ ” for great teachers so as for who is in charge ? will freedom of the market should be in charge cash talks bs walks in the usa

9. Ben R | 04.22.09

Having completed my undergraduate last May at a private university of 3000 students, with on semester abroad at the University of Melbourne, I would disagree that brick and mortar universities will be obsolete. I think larger universities might have trouble. At the university of melbourne all my class lectures were recorded and immediately put online with some lecture notes. I reckon about 30 percent of the enrolled class actually showed up to lectures. However with 3 hours of lecture a week or so we had to have about 2 hours of tutorials. Attendance for those tutorials were always high and students loved to participate. At my private university, the average class size was about 25 students or so and it was a major selling point. I could not imagine taking a course in philosophy without having discussion. I believe there is still plenty of demand for classrooms and smaller private institutions will do well as long as the economy does well land scholarships are available, but larger universities that rely on the lecture hall experience may have problems competing with online education.

10. benjamin | 04.22.09

we have plastic brains. we don’t know the affect all this wire is doing to the thought process, we only know it is changing the way we think.

11. Eric Chaffee | 04.22.09

Students often learn as much from each other (in discussions after class) as they do from a professor. This seems far less likely to happen in a virtual university. Tech stuff can’t replace honest interaction. ~eric.

12. Philopraxis | 04.22.09

I can’t agree. Many classes I’ve attended are disorganized, wordy and boring. With online courses, there is ample opportunity to go back over data, whereas in class, you hear it only once. If the professor is available by e-mail, there is a far greater chance of meaningful interaction than in the rushed, hectic atmosphere after class, or in the effort to see the prof. in his/her office. What’s more, programmed education offers the opportunity to test comprehension as you go, rather than in an apocalyptic final exam.
The one area in which social participation does pay off is in the seminar, even if headed by a teaching assistant. They are often much closer to the students’ attitudes and issues than the professor. What’s more, there one interacts with peers and has an opportunity to truly comprehend subjects that may appear obscure on the printed page or in the classroom notes. I think that the best compromise combines online education with seminars, and saving the one-on-many lecture for introductions or special subjects.

13. Erika Hollister | 04.22.09

The future of the world depends on us being able to meet, respect and honor other human beings whose world-views differ from our own. In order for young people to grow into responsible adults they need practice in discussing human rights, scientific conundrums, artistic insights and environmental challenges.
This is what education in the classroom allows - and it is an intimate and mysterious process- sharing intellectual problems and creative solutions. This process is blunted and lonely on-line. Besides college has become our society’s socializing and mating ritual; it’s where young people go to become adults in every sense. That certainly requires face to face. People need people; we’ll all go crazy if we just sit at our computers instead of working, laughing, inquiring and loving together.

14. it’s all for the kids | 04.22.09

uh huh. I’m glad that a university is actually bringing this up. I know they’ll do their best to fillibuster any real change in higher ed as long as possible.
The cost of college has increased by about 500% in many cases since the 70’s. This being inflation-adjusted. Can someone explain why? I guess since nothing was ever invented or discovered by any alumni from earlier decades, it was deemed necessary to increase all school-related costs to drastically improve these programs, right? I’m trying to point out that kids are being forced to pay ridiculous amounts of money (and yes, sometimes it is indeed the kids themselves - not their parents - who pay… not all of us are set for life) for educations that are dubiously improved over older — and FAR cheaper — incarnations of the same programs! Why? Expanded administration, more teachers, more (often useless) programs. I for one have seen my college drop countless millions in 4 years on ‘grounds improvements’ and new frat houses. In short, the quality of the education has not greatly improved (and indeed courses have generally become far more impersonal and generic) but the amount of people employed by universities (and their salaries) have expanded and improved.
BTW, ‘experienced adults’ are often the most closed-minded and out-of-touch fools a child will have to deal with and are thus unhelpful. Furhtermore, I for one am sick of getting lectured on how lazy and uninspired the younger generations are. Kids have to go to school longer now than any previous generation ever dreamed, and for those who have to work their way through, this means making less money for a longer period of time — you know: 30, just graduated and broke. The labor market has a ‘bubble’ accordingly, since you need a masters in some cases to get work that previously had been done by high-school grads in bygone eras. It’s the boomers and their ilk that have shoved these changes down our throats in order to institutionalize their children as long as possible and hence, prolong dealing with the guilt they feel for raising them so poorly. If the kids suck, well I’d guess their parents suck far worse.

15. Pat | 04.22.09

When comparing on-line courses with an on-campus class of 25 students, the latter is usually superior. Listening to my son describe difficult engineering classes taught to lecture halls of well over 100 students, by instructors whose English is minimal, I wonder if extending the reach of very good teachers via on-line instruction wouldn’t be an improvement.

16. Dutch Oven Guy | 04.22.09

Last year I received my master’s in information studies from a program that was predominately online. My law degree dates from 1974.

A good professor can teach well in either the face-to-face or the online medium. The educational experience is quite different, but either medium can provide a quality education. There are, however, those disciplines that require a physical presence like sculpture or hydrodynamics. Online classes are excellent training for virtual work groups, but face to face communication with complete body language is so much richer. I missed chatting in person with my classmates before or after a face-to-face class, but I liked the time shifting aspect of an asynchronous online class. I could listen to a lecture on my iPod while watering the grass. There were also times when I liked the quiet deliberative process of typing out an answer rather than formulating an answer on the fly in a live classroom.

17. Pat Nester | 04.22.09

I think the astonishing success of social networking sites is proof positive that one can have an intense, ongoing discussion that equals or perhaps surpasses the back and forth of a seminar. The value of threaded discussion is that you can look at it again, without taking notes even. I suspect that these powerful social interactions online, occurring in geometrically increasing numbers even as we speak, will be put to solid educational uses, and well before 2020.

18. Steve Orr | 04.22.09

Networking? Life experience? In college? I was too busy for any of that while attending school. Worked full time but had no debt on graduation day. Occupational opportunities were plenty because my employer saw that I was willing to work hard, even when burdened by a full school schedule. Would be nice to get back all the time wasted on commuting to & from campus.

The current economic slowdown is something of a blessing. Many employers have realized that hiring good “schmoozers” is bad policy. We are seeing a renewed emphasis on evaluating work-ethic of employees.

We do need to strengthen our civic institutions. But the public university is meritocratic at its best, elitist at worst. The emphasis is on letting the cream rise to the top. Justifiably so. Not a good place to build a true sense of community, though.

19. Ryan G | 04.22.09

Having finished my undergrad, I have taken many classroom and online courses. My conclusion is that there will always be a mixture of classroom and online courses. Some courses will have to be done in a classroom. However, the majority of undergrad courses can easily be done online. Honestly it would be better that way.

Most undergrad degrees aren’t worth squat anyway. I personally know quite a few unemployed Harvard grads. Seriously. The online courses would give students the opportunity “notice I said students not kids” to get what really matters WORK EXPERIENCE. That is one of the biggest problems. Undergrad degrees are not worth much without any REAL work experience. I’m not talking about a lame internship. If you really wanted to prepare student for post college success you would create an online curriculum that correlated with ON THE JOB TRAINING.

Also, online courses for me have been much more organized and linear. You do not have some tenured professor droning on for 3 hours about thier biased political opinions. No lecturing about apples and asking about oranges on the exams. The course is set and there aren’t deviations. Plus, I don’t have to go an hour early to get parking.

I think the newer generations are doing great. They’re definitley not the ones responsible for the “ahem” recession but they will probably be the ones to make sure this garabage does not happen again. As far as being lazy, I wouldnt go that far seeing as most of this new technology is being developed by people under 30.

The world must and always will change and adapt. “Brick and Mortar” Institutions will always have their place but they must reform or be left behind. Change or die.

20. Abby B | 04.22.09

As a current on-line MBA student. I can say the convenience out weighs me wanting face-to-face contact with my teacher. Why should I pay an arm and a leg for a brick-and-mortar education when I can still get as excited about learning, if not more so, online. The online education system is the way of the future, whether or not professors want to admit it. Like another poster said, I love the fact that I can print out our discussions so that I can read and re-read them and not have to take notes. I can print EVERYTHING out and keep it forever.

21. Mayme, NY | 04.22.09

A sensible mix of online and face to face is needed.

22. MarkLeavenworth | 04.23.09

As the net return in energy for energy investment continues to decline with the labor price of energy ascending, the value of knowledge will begin its ascent with its money price descending.

23. Reid, GA | 04.23.09

The larger problem here is the (in my opinion) misplaced emphasis on college degrees as the union card to get a good job in this country. College IS a business, just look at the rising costs over the last decades. One way they perpetuate this is maintaining that if you don’t have at least a BA/BS, you are only worthy of scrubbing the executive bathrooms.

Besides, if I want to study IT or computer programming, why do I have to waste two years of my four year degree studying biology and psychology and art appreciation and the myriad other “core” classes that universities require in addition to your major courses (or in many instances require before you can even start taking your major courses) that have nothing to do with learning how to write a computer program? But for that, many students could earn practically useful degrees in less time and for less money.

But the colleges don’t want to lose the revenue, and so they force you to pay for four years of classes when most people could complete courses of study and be perfectly proficient in their field of interest in less time.

24. Tom, PA | 04.23.09

Technology has changed the way we do business, the way we learn, and the way we socialize. I have taken both online and in classroom courses and I also teach online and offline. The main difference between the online learning platform and the in classroom learning is a paradigm shift. Institutions normally struggle to maintain the status quo whenever there is a generational paradigm shift. Think of the typewriters and the analog cameras and TVs. Where are they now? Digital technology was a major paradigm shift for technology companies such as Kodak. In the online environment, the student takes the center stage while the professor takes the center stage in the classroom environment. Students have more choices now than never before. University education is no longer reserved for only a select few. Well designed online courses that include asynchronous and synchronous platforms can offer students more choices such as live chats, discussion boards, white boards, virtual group projects, online cybercafés, IM, interactive tours, and other rich media which surpasses the classroom experience. However, if the online course is poorly designed then it can be a total disaster to the students. The faculty member has to respond to students within hours to keep them motivated not within days. The online student has to be more focused and self-directed. Students who are not focused may find the online platform challenging. Including, both platforms have advantages and disadvantages. The online technology platform enables students to have more options than in the past when it was only the brick and mortar platform. Thanks

25. Jerry McIntire | 04.25.09

There is NOTHING that can substitute for the immediacy of face-to-face interaction, the fullness of discussion between teachers and students and the enrichment of individual experience from campus work, volunteer, and social life. It is a privileged time apart, a whole experience that many miss out on because they are working so much, or their classes are too large, or they are interested only in their field of interest, or they can’t afford to attend. Affordability is a key then, as are small classes, and healthy opportunities for interaction in and out of classes.

There are a number of knowledge-based classes that could be done well online, but anything requiring artistic skill or judgement or wisdom (that includes ethics in any field) is better provided face-to-face. Soil Science or Anatomy online? Okay. But persuasion, journalism, theater, sculpture, chemistry, architecture, foreign languages, political science, … No. Most of these classes would benefit from a teacher’s adept use of modern media, but these are only adjuncts to vital human interaction. Behind all online forums, behind all marketing campaigns, are individual people. We’d best remember this and act accordingly.

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