Technology in Education
Technology, specifically technologies related to the Internet, have disrupted fields like journalism (think of how Twitter and YouTube have given a whole new meaning to the term “breaking news”) and publishing (everyone can blog or post a review or a comment; you don’t need access to a printing press). So is education the next port of call for the technology juggernaut? It sure would appear so given how many American universities have started offering free online courses. And we are talking about the top ones here, like Harvard and MIT. But is there any downside to online education? Apart from the obvious, and very important, point that most of these online courses do not award degrees (No degree, no job). I read this article that pointed several good reasons why online education cannot replace conventional in-the-classroom education. Education is not (should not be?) about ramming facts into your head: “Education is not the transmission of information or ideas. ...