By Alisandra Wederich
We've all heard about college drop-outs who found their way to success through hard work and entrepreneurship. Names like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, Oprah and Michael Dell are just a few that come to mind when we think about those who have succeeded by dropping out of school. There is even the annual Thiel Fellowship which offers $100,000 to a handful of students under the age of 20 on the condition that they drop out of college and pursue a business venture instead - an effort by Peter Thiels to offer legitimacy and support to those who want to try the drop-out "path." However, in the midst of all these success stories, and in an age where student loans cause many to question whether it is worth it to start a college education, much less finish one; we often fail to hear about those who drop out of college and flounder.
It can be very misleading to think that dropping out of college will just land you on the path to a multi-million dollar project. Even in it's generous monetary offerings, the students selected to receive the Thiel Fellowship are extraordinary: a student who was matriculated into MIT by age 14, one of the youngest students at Harvard, and a student who was a Ph.D. candidate by age 16. These are students whose history already attests to their hard work and astounding success, so offering them money to continue their endeavors is less of a risk and more of an investment in already proven and focused efforts. Yet the story we hear when recounting many college dropout successes is not about a history of incredible success, but how dropping out of college provided them with the opportunity to launch their successful careers, leading to the belief that dropping out of college leads to success, rather than the key elements being luck, intellect, talent, or any other array of contributing factors.
The facts tell us a very different story than the "American Dream," we hear about. Many college students, daunted by student loans, have decided to drop out rather than push on to graduate, and it often comes with a great loss: these students are less likely to be employed, and will earn significantly less on average than their degree-wielding counterparts. In fact, according to the O.C.E.D.'s report, a college degree is worth $365,000 for the average American man (subtracting all its direct and indirect costs) over a lifetime. For women, who still struggle for wage equality in America, a college degree is worth $185,000. This makes a college degree incredibly valuable - far more valuable than what a Thiels Fellowship would offer.
Additionally, compared to those who finished their degrees, college drop outs are four times more likely to default on their student federal loans, and are unlikely to earn much more than those who only have a high school diploma. We never hear the stories of failure though - only those of success, which can offer a warped perspective on what to do when a desperate student is confronted with the abominable price of student loans.
There are, however, alternative solutions to these problems. While the Thiels Fellowship offers possibility to already exemplary individuals, other opportunities are available to those students who are not already successful young stars of the education world. Offering more financial aid to students is certainly a step towards making those student loans less daunting, but the best solution is providing a more affordable education to begin with. There are many already existing affordable and even FREE websites you can go to in order to pursue higher learning and many are already listed on our website. MIT, Stanford, and Cornell, already have online learning options available, but if more institutions invest in technology as a means to serve their student body, we will find that the cost of education does not need to be so outrageous. Technology serves to improve our world in countless ways, and the realm of education need only take its reins (or touch-screens) to find the benefits it can offer. We have already mentioned some here on our blog, but keep reading for more ways in which technological innovations can aid with education at little to no cost to students!
Sources: Peter Thiel and the Cult of the Dropout by Alison Griswold and Dropping Out Of College and Paying the Price by Eduardo Porter for the NY Times
Friday, May 30, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Bringing Computer Coding and Programming Classes into Schools
By Sean Scarpiello
As technology continues to become more advanced and cutting edge technology makes it onto the market each day, there has been some technology which has inevitably made it into schools. However, bringing technology into the classroom in the form of laptops or tablets is simply not enough. Some educational professionals are pushing to get schools to include computer science as part of their curriculum. While this may sound like a crazy idea, I think schools will eventually begin offering classes on coding and programming. Every day, we use computers, cell phones, apps, and tablets yet the overwhelming majority of us are completely unaware of how they work. Further, there are other classes, such as cursive and even spelling, which can be phased out as technology increasingly works its way into our lives.
Education has always focused on keeping students informed on the unknown and mysterious world around us. From early on in our science education, we learned why water freezes, how seasons change, and what the earth looks like from space. However, as technology becomes more advanced, it continues to be shrouded in mystery for many students and teachers. We continue to use this technology for work, utility, and fun, yet we still have no idea how an app works or how computer programs are designed to help us accomplish many feats in all fields of study. Therefore, much like simple science was once as mystery to everyone as children, it is imperative that classes on computer coding and programming are implemented in schools.
While this may seem as a huge undertaking, teaching students about designing software does not have to be difficult. I have already seen online platforms that schools can use to teach students some of the basics (such as Tynker, which I wrote about here). These platforms are available to students in second grade and up. Beyond this, schools can even start up their own computer science classes where teachers instruct in basic coding and programming. This would not be extremely difficult, as students will be excited to use computers and the use of this technology allows educators to walk students through the lesson step by step. Computer science classes can even be used to replace cursive and other similar types of classes which are becoming obsolete with the rise of technology. Even classes on typing could be used as an opportunity to teach students how to learn to type computer programs instead of the usual nonsense and repetitive words in class. Even more beneficial would be that students can instantly learn and apply their programming knowledge to make their own simple games, apps, and computer programs. Classes can spark their interest in STEM related fields and students can begin to work on their own independent projects outside of school. This would be especially beneficial to society as more and more technology is being released to the public each day. Further, the countries that are pumping out this technology will no doubt have an advantage in all other areas of scientific research and medicine.
In all, computer science classes would be simple and easy to implement in grade schools and up through college. Many students have very little, if any, knowledge on coding and programming so by starting students off early in their education in such a way that gets students interested in a STEM related field, coding classes would definitely by a huge success. Overall, many students would be actively learning STEM subjects through the implementation of technology which would be available to schools at little cost, thereby further advancing society in the cutting edge and interesting field of computer science and technology.
As technology continues to become more advanced and cutting edge technology makes it onto the market each day, there has been some technology which has inevitably made it into schools. However, bringing technology into the classroom in the form of laptops or tablets is simply not enough. Some educational professionals are pushing to get schools to include computer science as part of their curriculum. While this may sound like a crazy idea, I think schools will eventually begin offering classes on coding and programming. Every day, we use computers, cell phones, apps, and tablets yet the overwhelming majority of us are completely unaware of how they work. Further, there are other classes, such as cursive and even spelling, which can be phased out as technology increasingly works its way into our lives.
Education has always focused on keeping students informed on the unknown and mysterious world around us. From early on in our science education, we learned why water freezes, how seasons change, and what the earth looks like from space. However, as technology becomes more advanced, it continues to be shrouded in mystery for many students and teachers. We continue to use this technology for work, utility, and fun, yet we still have no idea how an app works or how computer programs are designed to help us accomplish many feats in all fields of study. Therefore, much like simple science was once as mystery to everyone as children, it is imperative that classes on computer coding and programming are implemented in schools.
While this may seem as a huge undertaking, teaching students about designing software does not have to be difficult. I have already seen online platforms that schools can use to teach students some of the basics (such as Tynker, which I wrote about here). These platforms are available to students in second grade and up. Beyond this, schools can even start up their own computer science classes where teachers instruct in basic coding and programming. This would not be extremely difficult, as students will be excited to use computers and the use of this technology allows educators to walk students through the lesson step by step. Computer science classes can even be used to replace cursive and other similar types of classes which are becoming obsolete with the rise of technology. Even classes on typing could be used as an opportunity to teach students how to learn to type computer programs instead of the usual nonsense and repetitive words in class. Even more beneficial would be that students can instantly learn and apply their programming knowledge to make their own simple games, apps, and computer programs. Classes can spark their interest in STEM related fields and students can begin to work on their own independent projects outside of school. This would be especially beneficial to society as more and more technology is being released to the public each day. Further, the countries that are pumping out this technology will no doubt have an advantage in all other areas of scientific research and medicine.
In all, computer science classes would be simple and easy to implement in grade schools and up through college. Many students have very little, if any, knowledge on coding and programming so by starting students off early in their education in such a way that gets students interested in a STEM related field, coding classes would definitely by a huge success. Overall, many students would be actively learning STEM subjects through the implementation of technology which would be available to schools at little cost, thereby further advancing society in the cutting edge and interesting field of computer science and technology.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
MindTap: A New Type of Online Learning Platform
By Sean Scarpiello
Cengage Learning is an online education technology company devoted to bringing education into classrooms in such a way that keeps students engaged in learning and collaborating with others. Among many of Cengage Learning’s different programs, there is a completely original application called MindTap. Many educational institutions across the country are now beginning to implement MindTap along with other Cengage Learning platforms. MindTap showed a lot of promise already - 88% of MindTap students would recommend using this platform to others.
MindTap is not a learning management system or an e-book. Instead, it is Cengage Learning’s comprehensive learning platform where students can access all of their course material at a single, organized site. MindTap is available for instructors to use and personalize for their class. Schools can purchase different courses in subject matter pertaining to just about any subject. Courses include economics, business, art, English, sociology, psychology, and more. Further, Cengage Learning offers even more online-based classes for grades K-12, as well as college level courses. For students, MindTap allows class material to be easy to navigate, highly organized, and makes learning fun. As it is a online learning technology, class material available on MindTap can be accessed anytime and anywhere with an Internet connection. MindTap really simplifies students’ lives in that it allows all of their course content to be available and easily accessible in one secure location.
MindTap is also easy to use for instructors. In fact, teachers are able to completely personalize their course content and availability on MindTap. This means they can add or remove any course material or modules that they would like. Further, teachers can add videos, links, quizzes, their own material, and much more. Should teachers run into problems with MindTap, there’s a lot of support quickly available to help teachers get their class back on track. Instructors are also able to share different online applications with their students through MindTap. These applications include flashcards and collaboration programs which allow students to be more engaged with class material and with each other. Last, and most importantly, MindTap courses are available at reasonable cost for schools.
Overall, Cengage Learning’s MindTap learning platform is sure to be a success as it brings together course content in a highly organized easily accessible manner. This also helps teachers provide a highly personalized education for their students in a way that is fun and engaging. MindTap is sure to be successful for students of all ages as it brings a high quality education at low costs to many students by utilizing technology.
Source: http://www.cengage.com/mindtap/index.html
Cengage Learning is an online education technology company devoted to bringing education into classrooms in such a way that keeps students engaged in learning and collaborating with others. Among many of Cengage Learning’s different programs, there is a completely original application called MindTap. Many educational institutions across the country are now beginning to implement MindTap along with other Cengage Learning platforms. MindTap showed a lot of promise already - 88% of MindTap students would recommend using this platform to others.
MindTap is not a learning management system or an e-book. Instead, it is Cengage Learning’s comprehensive learning platform where students can access all of their course material at a single, organized site. MindTap is available for instructors to use and personalize for their class. Schools can purchase different courses in subject matter pertaining to just about any subject. Courses include economics, business, art, English, sociology, psychology, and more. Further, Cengage Learning offers even more online-based classes for grades K-12, as well as college level courses. For students, MindTap allows class material to be easy to navigate, highly organized, and makes learning fun. As it is a online learning technology, class material available on MindTap can be accessed anytime and anywhere with an Internet connection. MindTap really simplifies students’ lives in that it allows all of their course content to be available and easily accessible in one secure location.
MindTap is also easy to use for instructors. In fact, teachers are able to completely personalize their course content and availability on MindTap. This means they can add or remove any course material or modules that they would like. Further, teachers can add videos, links, quizzes, their own material, and much more. Should teachers run into problems with MindTap, there’s a lot of support quickly available to help teachers get their class back on track. Instructors are also able to share different online applications with their students through MindTap. These applications include flashcards and collaboration programs which allow students to be more engaged with class material and with each other. Last, and most importantly, MindTap courses are available at reasonable cost for schools.
Overall, Cengage Learning’s MindTap learning platform is sure to be a success as it brings together course content in a highly organized easily accessible manner. This also helps teachers provide a highly personalized education for their students in a way that is fun and engaging. MindTap is sure to be successful for students of all ages as it brings a high quality education at low costs to many students by utilizing technology.
Source: http://www.cengage.com/mindtap/index.html
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Magnet Schools: An Innovative Way to Educate
By Sean Scarpiello
As alternative forms of education such as charter schools are becoming increasingly common, magnet schools have also been gaining popularity in the past several years. Magnet schools get their name from their highly specialized programs and curricula which attract students from all over. Further, they are simply public schools that draw students from all across the district and school zones which offer classes in the levels of elementary, middle, and high school. Magnet schools were originally designed in the 1960s to help reduce segregation in schools; however, they are now being revived and are drawing students individualized teaching styles too. These days, magnet schools have much more to offer and result in improved academic success in a number of different areas for students in kindergarten to grade 12.
First, magnet schools continue to bring diversity and innovative learning techniques into the classroom. They often require some sort of interview or entrance exam, but magnet schools also have high graduation rates, high college acceptance rates, and more. This is done by hiring specialized teaching staff that have a passion for their subjects. Together, this leads to fewer problems with discipline, higher student attendance, and increased teacher satisfaction. Compared to regular public schools, these improvements definitely make magnet schools appealing. Further, magnet schools have also reported having increased parental involvement in education which is one of the greatest factors leading to academic success. With all of these huge benefits in mind, many think that magnet schools would be expensive to educate students. However, magnet schools are publicly run schools that are designed to lure in students from different areas within a school district.
In light of all of these huge benefits to magnet schools, it is the highly specialized programs that attract most students. Many magnet schools have classes and curricula focused on subjects such as technology, entrepreneurship, engineering, humanities, and even the arts. Since classes are highly individualized for students, there are very low dropout rates and students continue to pursue these specialized fields after graduation. Despite these concentrations in different fields of study, magnet schools are not the same as vocational or technical schools. While some students attending magnet schools opt out of attending college, many magnet schools boast college acceptance rates of 100%. After graduation, many students report success in college and in the workplace due to emphasis placed on learning skills and practical application of knowledge rather than the regurgitation of facts in class. Also, students are urged to collaborate with each other in forming ideas and arguments for discussion, further adding to a well-rounded and people-based education experience.
Overall, magnet schools have a lot to offer and provide a lot of different benefits for students. Aside from receiving a specialized and individualized education from enthusiastic teachers, students also are engaged in innovative curricula centered on collaboration and learning alongside others. Best of all, a magnet education is available to practically anyone who lives in a district with magnet schools. In all, magnet schools are highly beneficial to the field of education as they offer a high quality yet low cost education to many students.
Source: http://www.magnet.edu/about/what-are-magnet-schools
As alternative forms of education such as charter schools are becoming increasingly common, magnet schools have also been gaining popularity in the past several years. Magnet schools get their name from their highly specialized programs and curricula which attract students from all over. Further, they are simply public schools that draw students from all across the district and school zones which offer classes in the levels of elementary, middle, and high school. Magnet schools were originally designed in the 1960s to help reduce segregation in schools; however, they are now being revived and are drawing students individualized teaching styles too. These days, magnet schools have much more to offer and result in improved academic success in a number of different areas for students in kindergarten to grade 12.
First, magnet schools continue to bring diversity and innovative learning techniques into the classroom. They often require some sort of interview or entrance exam, but magnet schools also have high graduation rates, high college acceptance rates, and more. This is done by hiring specialized teaching staff that have a passion for their subjects. Together, this leads to fewer problems with discipline, higher student attendance, and increased teacher satisfaction. Compared to regular public schools, these improvements definitely make magnet schools appealing. Further, magnet schools have also reported having increased parental involvement in education which is one of the greatest factors leading to academic success. With all of these huge benefits in mind, many think that magnet schools would be expensive to educate students. However, magnet schools are publicly run schools that are designed to lure in students from different areas within a school district.
In light of all of these huge benefits to magnet schools, it is the highly specialized programs that attract most students. Many magnet schools have classes and curricula focused on subjects such as technology, entrepreneurship, engineering, humanities, and even the arts. Since classes are highly individualized for students, there are very low dropout rates and students continue to pursue these specialized fields after graduation. Despite these concentrations in different fields of study, magnet schools are not the same as vocational or technical schools. While some students attending magnet schools opt out of attending college, many magnet schools boast college acceptance rates of 100%. After graduation, many students report success in college and in the workplace due to emphasis placed on learning skills and practical application of knowledge rather than the regurgitation of facts in class. Also, students are urged to collaborate with each other in forming ideas and arguments for discussion, further adding to a well-rounded and people-based education experience.
Overall, magnet schools have a lot to offer and provide a lot of different benefits for students. Aside from receiving a specialized and individualized education from enthusiastic teachers, students also are engaged in innovative curricula centered on collaboration and learning alongside others. Best of all, a magnet education is available to practically anyone who lives in a district with magnet schools. In all, magnet schools are highly beneficial to the field of education as they offer a high quality yet low cost education to many students.
Source: http://www.magnet.edu/about/what-are-magnet-schools
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Moodle: A Completely No Cost Learning Platform
By Sean Scarpiello
While there are many different online educational tools available to teachers and students, many of them have high costs. However, the teaching technology Moodle allows teachers to easily organize and plan class activities in an online format for free. Already, Moodle is used by a number of different universities, high schools, and even corporate offices for online classes, training, and work seminars. Further, Moodle can be easily and effectively brought to any classroom where students have access to email.
To start Moodle in your classroom, head to Moodle's website, where free online content can be accessed. By working through the school’s own server or by getting help from one of Moodle’s partners, teachers are able to bring all of Moodle’s services to their students simply by having students log on with their school or personal email. Then, teachers can create different lessons, assignments, readings, and quizzes. For students, this means class work can be completed anywhere that there is access to an internet connection. Also, students, teachers, and parents can be directly connected to each other for clear communication for things like homework questions, late assignments, or progress reports.
While there are many other softwares that are similar to Moodle, none of these educational technologies are available at no cost to students or teachers. Further, the program can run on a school's existing server or another server which can be easily configured by a school's IT department. Both teachers and students have found using Moodle to be simple, easy, and beneficial to learning. In fact, surveys show that between 80% and 90% students reported using Moodle for homework and classwork most days of the week. There are also many testimonials on how students enjoy some of Moodle’s other functions such as a digital drop box which allows electronic documents to be turned in instantly from school, home, or elsewhere.
In the whole scheme of things, Moodle is not a groundbreaking software. There are many other similar learning platforms such a Canvas and Blackboard. However, what makes Moodle fantastic is that it is free. Further, its web-based content is easy for teachers to design and easy for students to complete. This holds especially true with Moodle’s online quizzes with instant feedback and open teacher-student communication. In all, Moodle is a very beneficial education software because of its ability to effectively bring education to more students through the implementation of technology at no cost.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/04/18/lubricating-the-wheels-of-technology-in-education/
http://moodle.com/
While there are many different online educational tools available to teachers and students, many of them have high costs. However, the teaching technology Moodle allows teachers to easily organize and plan class activities in an online format for free. Already, Moodle is used by a number of different universities, high schools, and even corporate offices for online classes, training, and work seminars. Further, Moodle can be easily and effectively brought to any classroom where students have access to email.
To start Moodle in your classroom, head to Moodle's website, where free online content can be accessed. By working through the school’s own server or by getting help from one of Moodle’s partners, teachers are able to bring all of Moodle’s services to their students simply by having students log on with their school or personal email. Then, teachers can create different lessons, assignments, readings, and quizzes. For students, this means class work can be completed anywhere that there is access to an internet connection. Also, students, teachers, and parents can be directly connected to each other for clear communication for things like homework questions, late assignments, or progress reports.
While there are many other softwares that are similar to Moodle, none of these educational technologies are available at no cost to students or teachers. Further, the program can run on a school's existing server or another server which can be easily configured by a school's IT department. Both teachers and students have found using Moodle to be simple, easy, and beneficial to learning. In fact, surveys show that between 80% and 90% students reported using Moodle for homework and classwork most days of the week. There are also many testimonials on how students enjoy some of Moodle’s other functions such as a digital drop box which allows electronic documents to be turned in instantly from school, home, or elsewhere.
In the whole scheme of things, Moodle is not a groundbreaking software. There are many other similar learning platforms such a Canvas and Blackboard. However, what makes Moodle fantastic is that it is free. Further, its web-based content is easy for teachers to design and easy for students to complete. This holds especially true with Moodle’s online quizzes with instant feedback and open teacher-student communication. In all, Moodle is a very beneficial education software because of its ability to effectively bring education to more students through the implementation of technology at no cost.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2014/04/18/lubricating-the-wheels-of-technology-in-education/
http://moodle.com/
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Collaborating with College Students
By Sean Scarpiello
Many of my friends who are education majors at my college are going through the final stages in getting their teaching degree by student teaching at nearby elementary and middle schools. Part of their finishing requirements involve creating interesting, yet informative lesson plans on a variety of different topics. To do this, many of these soon-to-be teachers came up with clever ideas. However, one student teacher was really innovative and decided to come up with a whole new structure to her lesson plans. She decided to invite her friends who were political science and chemistry majors to come in and teach the class about some of the cool things they were learning in their college classes.
For the students in class, this meant that they were going to have some new visitors teach them about the latest material. For the college students, this meant finding a way to present difficult, current data in a way that young students can understand. As a result, this lesson plan was an absolute success. The political science major came to give a lesson on the structure of the US government in which he used visuals to demonstrate where government officials work and how they get elected. The chemistry major led a class discussion on the properties of water and demonstrated some cool experiments with water. These fun and interactive lessons with new faces and fresh perspectives worked out great for students as they were keen on listening to an “expert” on new material.
While the teacher and student teacher could have easily taught the class these lessons, bringing in someone with more experience in each of the different subjects allows the class to be taught in an unfamiliar and interesting way. Further, this gives teachers more time to focus on designing other lesson plans. For the college students, this was a change from the stereotypical class presentation in front of their peers who probably already understand a lot of what is being presented. Instead, college students were able to direct their presentations at students who are young and still looking for their passion in education. Furthermore, a lesson where a someone new comes in to present is great because the lesson plan is open and taught by someone with an extensive background in the field.
One other benefit of this is that it stimulates young students’ minds. By seeing someone who is working a job or learning a lot about a certain topic teach the class, they get to witness the passion and knowledge of political science or chemistry college students. In this particular case, the students attending the elementary and middle schools where these presentations occurred have a low college attendance rate. In the very least, by having these older students teach the class and share their experiences, it motivates students to work harder in school so that one day they can go to college too.
In all, by having nearby college students or others with backgrounds in different fields come and present to an elementary or middle school class, there are a number of different benefits students can enjoy. Students get a fresh perspective from new faces that have a different teaching style than what they are used to. Teachers and schools get well-designed lesson plans from people with a lot of knowledge in the field, and a class gets taught by a passionate and knowledgeable person at no additional cost. Overall, these types of lesson plans are innovative as they bring a higher quality of education to students, at no cost, through collaboration.
Many of my friends who are education majors at my college are going through the final stages in getting their teaching degree by student teaching at nearby elementary and middle schools. Part of their finishing requirements involve creating interesting, yet informative lesson plans on a variety of different topics. To do this, many of these soon-to-be teachers came up with clever ideas. However, one student teacher was really innovative and decided to come up with a whole new structure to her lesson plans. She decided to invite her friends who were political science and chemistry majors to come in and teach the class about some of the cool things they were learning in their college classes.
For the students in class, this meant that they were going to have some new visitors teach them about the latest material. For the college students, this meant finding a way to present difficult, current data in a way that young students can understand. As a result, this lesson plan was an absolute success. The political science major came to give a lesson on the structure of the US government in which he used visuals to demonstrate where government officials work and how they get elected. The chemistry major led a class discussion on the properties of water and demonstrated some cool experiments with water. These fun and interactive lessons with new faces and fresh perspectives worked out great for students as they were keen on listening to an “expert” on new material.
While the teacher and student teacher could have easily taught the class these lessons, bringing in someone with more experience in each of the different subjects allows the class to be taught in an unfamiliar and interesting way. Further, this gives teachers more time to focus on designing other lesson plans. For the college students, this was a change from the stereotypical class presentation in front of their peers who probably already understand a lot of what is being presented. Instead, college students were able to direct their presentations at students who are young and still looking for their passion in education. Furthermore, a lesson where a someone new comes in to present is great because the lesson plan is open and taught by someone with an extensive background in the field.
One other benefit of this is that it stimulates young students’ minds. By seeing someone who is working a job or learning a lot about a certain topic teach the class, they get to witness the passion and knowledge of political science or chemistry college students. In this particular case, the students attending the elementary and middle schools where these presentations occurred have a low college attendance rate. In the very least, by having these older students teach the class and share their experiences, it motivates students to work harder in school so that one day they can go to college too.
In all, by having nearby college students or others with backgrounds in different fields come and present to an elementary or middle school class, there are a number of different benefits students can enjoy. Students get a fresh perspective from new faces that have a different teaching style than what they are used to. Teachers and schools get well-designed lesson plans from people with a lot of knowledge in the field, and a class gets taught by a passionate and knowledgeable person at no additional cost. Overall, these types of lesson plans are innovative as they bring a higher quality of education to students, at no cost, through collaboration.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs) vs. Traditional Colleges
By Sean Scarpiello
Within the past few years, Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs) have become increasingly popular. And as companies such as Udacity and Coursera begin attracting many new students, colleges and other higher education institutions are beginning to worry. Schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford have already begun developing their own forms of web-based courses; however, the majority of higher education institutions have not yet developed these technologies in this quickly evolving market of education. As a result, many four year institutions fear that these changes may lower enrollment in upcoming years. Further, educators at these institutions are quickly trying to raise awareness on the importance of a traditional college learning experience.
As I prepare to graduate from a four year liberal arts institution, I cannot help but think back on my experiences. In retrospect, I find that there were many introductory classes where many students simply do not need the stereotypical college class to succeed. In these cases, I believe a well-designed MOOC could easily replace such classes. This is because much of the initial college courses taken by freshmen are for distribution as well as simply building a foundation of knowledge for success in upper level classes. In fact, much of the material being discussed in these classes has been widely known for decades- even centuries- and I doubt that many professors find teaching these intro courses intellectually stimulating. Therefore, a MOOC that is designed to require a lot of the basic class material to be learned and applied on exams would be beneficial to students. Also, a question and answer component to this MOOC, where students can ask professors questions regarding the material, would definitely benefit students.
Looking at more upper level classes, I still find that there are many areas where MOOCs could be used to substitute traditional college lectures, but there are also many subjects that cannot be successfully covered by MOOCs. This is especially true for the STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects where a lot of material is being updated day by day as our understanding of cutting edge science progresses. This, along with many open discussions, debates, and labs in other sorts of classes which allow students to engage each other in a traditional setting, enforce that colleges with a physical campus and classroom cannot be replaced. I have seen this firsthand in classes that discuss biochemistry, biophysics, ethics, philosophy, and political science . Open discussion in many social science courses improve class by adding debates and dialogue into class. My institution even requires students to complete a senior capstone experience where I have personally been able to collaborate with one of my professors on research that is largely unexplored. This type of education is vital and can only be achieved at a traditional college and not in an online format.
In light of all of this information, can an entire college education be provided by MOOCs? Absolutely. But if I was a business owner and a job candidate had an entirely web-based education, I would unquestionably deny them a job. MOOCs are fantastic at getting information from a textbook into a student’s head. MOOCs may even work well at enabling students to apply and incorporate information. However, MOOCs will always take second best to traditional style higher education where learning to work with other people and collaborations take priority. At college, students are always learning whether they are in the classroom or dining hall. Colleges help students learn to collaborate with their peers, work in a lab based setting, develop networking and people skills, learn to analyze and cultivate opinions, to critically think and much more. Therefore, when educators fear that a college education is no longer relevant, they do not need to worry.
Overall, MOOCs are becoming increasing effective at providing students with high quality, personalized educations, but MOOCs will fail to provide the human element of education. Further, only traditional style colleges will be able to improve a students’ ability to collaborate well with others, develop debate and discussion skills, and quickly analyze data as it is presented by others. In this regard, traditional style education is still relevant despite MOOCs improving abilities to provide low cost, individualized education to many students.
Within the past few years, Massive Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs) have become increasingly popular. And as companies such as Udacity and Coursera begin attracting many new students, colleges and other higher education institutions are beginning to worry. Schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford have already begun developing their own forms of web-based courses; however, the majority of higher education institutions have not yet developed these technologies in this quickly evolving market of education. As a result, many four year institutions fear that these changes may lower enrollment in upcoming years. Further, educators at these institutions are quickly trying to raise awareness on the importance of a traditional college learning experience.
As I prepare to graduate from a four year liberal arts institution, I cannot help but think back on my experiences. In retrospect, I find that there were many introductory classes where many students simply do not need the stereotypical college class to succeed. In these cases, I believe a well-designed MOOC could easily replace such classes. This is because much of the initial college courses taken by freshmen are for distribution as well as simply building a foundation of knowledge for success in upper level classes. In fact, much of the material being discussed in these classes has been widely known for decades- even centuries- and I doubt that many professors find teaching these intro courses intellectually stimulating. Therefore, a MOOC that is designed to require a lot of the basic class material to be learned and applied on exams would be beneficial to students. Also, a question and answer component to this MOOC, where students can ask professors questions regarding the material, would definitely benefit students.
Looking at more upper level classes, I still find that there are many areas where MOOCs could be used to substitute traditional college lectures, but there are also many subjects that cannot be successfully covered by MOOCs. This is especially true for the STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects where a lot of material is being updated day by day as our understanding of cutting edge science progresses. This, along with many open discussions, debates, and labs in other sorts of classes which allow students to engage each other in a traditional setting, enforce that colleges with a physical campus and classroom cannot be replaced. I have seen this firsthand in classes that discuss biochemistry, biophysics, ethics, philosophy, and political science . Open discussion in many social science courses improve class by adding debates and dialogue into class. My institution even requires students to complete a senior capstone experience where I have personally been able to collaborate with one of my professors on research that is largely unexplored. This type of education is vital and can only be achieved at a traditional college and not in an online format.
In light of all of this information, can an entire college education be provided by MOOCs? Absolutely. But if I was a business owner and a job candidate had an entirely web-based education, I would unquestionably deny them a job. MOOCs are fantastic at getting information from a textbook into a student’s head. MOOCs may even work well at enabling students to apply and incorporate information. However, MOOCs will always take second best to traditional style higher education where learning to work with other people and collaborations take priority. At college, students are always learning whether they are in the classroom or dining hall. Colleges help students learn to collaborate with their peers, work in a lab based setting, develop networking and people skills, learn to analyze and cultivate opinions, to critically think and much more. Therefore, when educators fear that a college education is no longer relevant, they do not need to worry.
Overall, MOOCs are becoming increasing effective at providing students with high quality, personalized educations, but MOOCs will fail to provide the human element of education. Further, only traditional style colleges will be able to improve a students’ ability to collaborate well with others, develop debate and discussion skills, and quickly analyze data as it is presented by others. In this regard, traditional style education is still relevant despite MOOCs improving abilities to provide low cost, individualized education to many students.
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