Could you ever see the day when online programs dominate college?

By 2012 Korea will get 1 Gbps Broadband Connections

http://gigaom.com/2009/02/01/by-2012-koreans-will-get-a-gigabit-per-second-broadband-connection/

 

completely agree

 

no way. we don't physically go to campus to learn (well sometimes we do). we physically go to campus to check out the hunnies and to hit on freshmen chicks. that experience just isn't the same online.

 

Depends which part you are talking about. Offering upper-level courses online or taking the core classes online. If you are already accepted into the major coming out of high school its fair game unless they put stipulations on it beforehand which I haven't ever heard of. The thing is you have to take a certain amount of hours to be considered a resident student and live on campus. That may play into it.

 

There will just be two tiers of education: pricy on-site education and cheap on-line education - just like education in many ways already differentiate the degrees, or pricy private schools vs public schools.

 

Nah, traditional "on-site" education will integrate distance learning in some way. It pretty much already has.

 

Man, that is not fair. I haven't had a true high speed connection since college.

 

I went back to finish my degree recently. I'm doing two hybrid courses that make it easier for me to go to school after work. For each class I only spend 90 minutes in class each week. The rest of the course is simple online quizzes and assignments. It's nice because we get "real world" knowledge from the professor in his lectures but also flexibility with less class time.

 

My wife enrolled this past semester for an in person math class. But there was not a book to buy. You bought an online code for you to access the online book. All of her classwork and homework is taken through this online portal. She is still required to go to class, but since she can do the class work online before hand she only ends up physically in class for about 20 minutes. That just blows my mind. The class is scheduled for an hour and a half yet she is never there for longer then 20-30 minutes.

 

Liberty University claims an enrollment of 50K, but they only have 12K at the physical campus. The other 38K go to school online.

 

I just completed my M.Ed. from Lamar University in Beumont, and have not and probably will not ever set foot on the campus.

While the online experience was very convenient in fitting into my schedule, there is no replacement for interactive discussions with the professor. There are video lectures, but they are prerecorded, and the interaction/discussion is in the form of a message board that I pretty much disregarded.

I found myself very frustrated when looking for clarification on the lectures or assignments.

A few courses through, I was thinking that I should just drop the program and physically attend classes at my local university, but the element of convenience is what kept me enrolled in the online program.

Did I learn from the program? Sure I did. Would I do it again...only because of the convenience on being able to do all coursework/lectures at home or wherever I may have been at the time(vacation, doctors office, soccer practice).

If I had the luxury of time, I would rather have sat in the classes. But being a parent, husband, and teacher, I did not have the luxury of time.

 

I'm afraid for our kids

 

Why did you disregard the message board (MB)? I think a MB and/or a chat session can basically replace 90% of the need for a physical instructor. With MB or chat, you wouldn't have to worry about not hearing the question or misunderstanding what the instructor had just said (especially if you have an instructor that has a thick accent).

I think the need for attending a physical university will never go away, for various reasons that have already been stated. However, I do see that some courses really don't need the presence of an instructor and can be moved to online.

 

I agree. While all schools will be using online supplements, it's likely the technology will create a class split. Colleges will have to compete on a mix of quality (like Harvard or Chicago), relationship (football schools), or value. They won't be able to compete on value any longer unless they lean heavily on the internet. So, those schools that don't have great academic reputations or brand loyalty are going to face some tough choices when a student compares them to U of Phoenix and recognizes that they don't really offer anything appreciably better and they take more time and money from the customer to do it.

 

Because the instructor did not participate in the message board. There was a question asked and we were required to post our thoughts and comment on two other classmates' thoughts.

No feedback, guidance, or clarification. I participated to get my 10 points. Never really gained much from it.

 

Didn't want to bother looking up how to spell Beaumont...

 

I've witnessed it a couple times with my friends.

Spoiler