On Online Education...
- M Jones Luce
- Jul 15, 2016
- 2 min read
After taking several classes online through Coursera, and a couple of Universities, I have two threads of thought.
One: I LOVE the flexibility. I love being able to work into the wee hours of the night if needed, or completing a week in one day because the rest of the days in the week were full. My GT brain loves the ability to run ahead, and yes--the power of choice. But...
Two: I wish my instructors were also humanly accessible--in person. Yes, the kinks and straightforward questions are easily solved in the discussion forums. Yes, I can get many other questions answered by Googling on my own. Yet, nothing online satisfies that GT drive to know "Why?"
Granted, most of the classes I have taken online have been instructional. Either an information dump to my brain, or a procedural "here is how you do this" type scenario--no problems with the online format. But this last class is an education class designed to make me a better educator in a new field. Ah...how can I just take the data dump and not ask questions? I want to know "Why?"
Yes, the discussion forums are there--but as with emails--I have found that anything longer than a one or two liner is going to be either seriously misinterpreted or flat out ignored. Not surprising considering both are designed to be concise. So where can I ask my "Why?" For the GT mind, this simply cannot be a one liner.
I crave the conversation. I crave the debate. Why do we do things this way and not that way? Convince me that this is the best practice. Not intending to challenge, but wanting the philosophy behind it all.
These are some things to think of as we transform higher education. Online classes certainly make the accessibility increase--this is laudable. However, at some point, for a deeper understanding, I think the conversations still need to happen. Discussions are nice--but I mean conversation. Where you not only see the words spoken, but you can feel the emotion emanating from their person. We need to see the sparks in each other's eyes. We need the immediate feedback of interpersonal interaction. Ideas flowing and building while minds are fresh, not just responses to stale, hours old questions and thoughts.
Is there a balance? Something to keep in mind as I consider graduate programs.
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