MIT now releases 90 percent of its coursework material online. Will this be the beginning of the end for college campuses? Though MIT won’t offer degrees online, it seems only a matter of time until other elite institutions decide to.
I applaud MIT for putting the material online. It’s a great service to anyone who needs to learn linear algebra immediately, and by anyone I mean probably one person ever. However, getting an online education is nowhere near as valuable as a real college experience. Sure you learn the material, but think back to the classes you took just two or three years ago. How much of that material do you still remember? I barely even remember the titles of the classes I took freshmen year.
The classroom of the future?
The real value of college is working with others, scheduling study sessions, meeting and living with new people. Online degrees are supposed to have the benefit of learning “from the comforts of your own home.” This isn’t a benefit, it’s a detriment. College is time to cut the cord, not memorize lecture slides on the couch while your mom makes you a grilled cheese sandwich.
Tags: college experience, MIT
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December 6th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
You are ignoring the credentialing aspect of college. A big purpose of education in our society is to officially recognize talent. MIT’s opencourseware is awesome, but it doesn’t give you any sort of diploma certifying your worth. It isn’t an online degree, but it’s great if you need to brush up on whatever to study for the GEDs. (I can also imagine it’s being used by a ton of folks overseas without as much access to higher education.) Many people want to hire Ivy League graduates not because of what they learned. They see the top schools as a clearing house for talented and productive people.
December 13th, 2007 at 2:29 am
You clearly haven’t read what OCW is. It is closer to Wikipedia for college students than an online university.