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How many homebound individuals are benefiting from
being able to take college (or even high school)-level
courses online?
A casual perusal of the thousands of resources
available to these people on the Internet shows
how far-reaching online education can be. In fact,
one provider of online courses lists 2,593 colleges
and universities worldwide as subscribers to their
service with more than 1,600 of them in the U.S.
The goal here is to give everyone the opportunity
to take the courses they need to obtain a high school
diploma or college degree. This includes working
or single moms, folks that are disabled or handicapped
or those of us that are mired in the day-to-day
grind of just trying to make a living.
Now Webdud Dave would have you believe that a majority
of people taking online courses are cheaters, slackers
and otherwise delinquent because there's no way
to ensure that they're the ones actually taking
tests, writing papers, etc. Obviously he has never
been exposed to those "cheaters" who hire
people to write papers for them or heard stories
about the instances of cheating in the classroom.
Obviously, we have to have faith that those individuals
are in the minority and folks that are laying out
their hard-earned cash to get an education actually
want to benefit from the opportunity to learn online.
The capabilities of the Internet to deliver videos
of classroom lectures and to act as an interface
for online discussions -- using webcams and chat
areas -- has made the virtual classroom a reality
for those unable to obtain a degree by attending
on-site classes at "brick and mortar"
educational facilities.
Yup, even Doubting Dave could benefit by expanding
his horizons learning online -- possibly by taking
a course in education.
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The Internet is everything and I'm not one to argue
that.
Well, actually I am.
<Insert Seinfeld accent here> What is the
deal with online education?
I don't understand it. Is this a joke?
It just gives people like me a way to get a degree
with very little effort.
Sure they're more convenient and cheaper in many
instances, but they are an insult to my intelligence
and should be to whoever's taking them. I know a
handful of people that take these courses to get
their degrees and conveniently have their spouses
or friends do the work for them. All I have to do
is give my 4.0 GPA buddy my login and password and
blammo! I get a 4.0 too.
Here's what these online courses need in order to
gain my approval:
1) Tests should be taken at the school in front
of the teacher instead of from behind a computer
screen. This does happen in some cases but not all.
2) Students should meet the teacher at least once
during the semester face to face and a face-to-face
interview should be conducted. For all the school
knows, the person taking the course could be a babbling
idiot. I apologize. He or she may not babble at
all.
3) There should be a way to verify that the person
signing in is the person that signed up for the
course. Maybe this could be done by only allowing
access from a specific computer or using some sort
of digital signature.
4) Online education shouldn't be as highly accredited
as in-class education until it has been tried and
tested through and through.
The list goes on and on.
It's premature and it annoys the heck out of me
to know that there are people out there taking advantage
of a system that isn't ready yet.
I give online education an F and the people that
take courses online a punch in the nose!
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