This week were we tasked to tackle a few things: has distance education changed what it means to get a "traditional" education and where we thought distance ed/curriculum and instructional technology will be in ten years from now. Within that context we were challenged to think, what if our Masters was completely online, how would that impact our job prospects, futures, etc. I found these sets of questions quite interesting because 1) being somewhat of a natural recluse I love the anonymous nature of the online class, 2) I also tend to love the flexible nature that online classes present, they allow you to work, live in another part of the country, or nap at noon rather than go to class. Also, due to the flexible nature of online coures you can do all assignments at once or through out the semester. Which leads me to the problems of online or distance ed 1) I'm a natural recluse and, if it wasn't for going to class I would probably become mountain woman with thirty cats, and 2) I am a horrible procrastinator. I'm the guy making the lists of things that need to be done three months out, only to spend the last 36 hours straight scrambling to get it all done at crunch time. I need to be pushed out of my reserved zone and I need structure. All things the traditional class room gives. Which leads me to what I think think would've happened if half of my undergrad classes were online and the other half were in class...if that was the case I would still be an undergrad. I've taken a few online courses as a graduate student and have done quite well, but it always, too me anyways, feels as though they are missing something. Maybe that's because the best class I've had so far was a face-to-face class that completely pushed my boundaries. I was in a class I had no background in, knew no one, and wasn't very good at. I was forced to actually engage with my peers and contribute to a sense of community. If I didn't show up for class ( it was a graphic design studio with only 8 people, so people noticed) someone would shoot me an email and be like, hey where were you. If I presented something that could use work someone took me aside and said, hey let me show you. I grew a lot as a person, and while I never took easy courses they were usually within my content area so I always did well. This face-to-face class taught me, something new is good. I just don't think I would have gotten that from a distance education course. Also, back to point number 2. I procrastinate. While I get everything done, I don't know if it's really the most effective way to learn. Take my blog, I had some technical difficulties when trying to log in, so I said to myself, "I'll log in tomorrow when I have more time to mess with it." That inner dialogue continues, each week I'm going to get to it, until agh! blog is due.
I just question if I think this is a really effective way to learn. The crunch. I mean, people will procrastinate and I've done it in face to face courses just as well, but theres something about an online component that makes it that much easier to dismiss for later. Then again, maybe that's just me. I didn't sign up for facebook until last year, and didn't even really want to, but felt that the tyranny of the masses was just too great. I have a twitter, but don't tweet, follow or have followers. I have a linked-in but again, I don't update it and reluctantly and slowly accept linked-in request. For me, I enjoy the anonymity of being deplugged from technology.
I thought the article on the global village was interesting and read it more as a piece of satire that criticizes the globalization of technology. I really loved the authors point of, " if we really wanted a global village we would start with the local culture. Learn to live in it, share in it, appreciate it." This made me think of three things, one of my friend who is stationed in Vietnam with her husband who is a US Diplomat to Vietnam. Two, the tyranny of technology and the masses, and three the blur of culture due to widely accessible technology.
My friend in Vietnam shared a picture of the streets of Ha Noi and commented on how there are power lines everywhere. She stated that at first she thought they were vines, but after closer inspection she realized how they were actually power lines and that one had to be quite careful as to where they walked. The people of Vietnam just weren't equipped with the ability to handle the mass amounts of power needed to manage their technology and were putting power lines everywhere. Which I feel, steams from the tyranny of technology. If you don't have facebook theres something wrong with you, even in the remote villages of Vietnam where people still mostly ride bikes as a means to travel, facebook is important. But, why? Why is it important to equip people with the ability to take an online course rather than build schools? I'm sure cost is a major factor, but why is technology always assumed to be the best place to spend our money? As the global village article puts it, "...a global village that leaves no place for native or alternative cultures seems uncomfortable like the old colonialism in a new guise."
So, with that. Where do I see online education ten years from now? And what do I think if my Masters degree was mostly online? I think online education ten years from now will be the new normal. It will be the way people take classes, because hey, we're busy. We spend so much time in front of a computer screen why not take classes while you're at it. And every bodies doing it, not just the dodgy University of the Internet, but respectable schools such as Penn and Harvard. But with that, I don't know about the quality of the education including the top schools. It just seems theres a disconnect between you and the degree if all your classes are online. As for my masters, that's an interesting point. Not long ago I was reading an article about whether Nurse Practitioners should be able to practice independently and be able to use the title "dr". The proponents felt that by obtaining the DNP (Doctorate in Nurse Practitioner) that they have earned the title "dr" and their education qualified them to work independently. The opponents felt that the education was not the same quality of MD's who spend their entire education in a face to face classroom while many NP programs you can complete your degree partially online or completely online. This online part, is what many busy working nurses like about a lot of degree programs, while others discredited the education based on it. I think there is a negative connotation with online degrees, I think schools have an uphill battle to over come this.
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