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McKayla Kennedy
Let's start with something relatively simple: textbooks.
Quality college textbooks have long been the backbone of higher education, but they cost an arm and a leg and need constant updating. I once needed a psychology textbook that cost me $212 used-- a new copy from the bookstore was $279. At $104 per book on average, a college student can easily expect to spend over $1000 per year just on course reading materials. That's a huge barrier to higher education.
The big textbooks corporations (Pearson, McMillan, and McGraw-Hill) are finally making the move to digital media-- which sounds great for students who want to study in non-traditional settings. Digital textbooks are, on average, half the cost of the identical paper versions, are easier to obtain and carry around, and sometimes offer interactive features like hi-lighting, searchable content, and optional reading quizzes or notes.
However, digital forms of textbooks still have problems:
If we want more students to freely engage with all of this information, we need to expand free digital libraries. Public libraries will probably not get government funding to do this, so organizations like the Gates Foundation have already spend almost 20 years and millions of dollars helping to provide internet access and e-books to underfunded libraries around the world. Multiple websites have started to collect free textbooks in PDF, EPUB, and ZIP files. Even if it's not feasible for all textbooks to always be free, we can probably achieve free quality textbooks in all major subject areas in the near future.
Method of Mass Distribution
OK, now we have materials, but how do we get people from all walks of life to engage with our awesome materials? The simple answer is MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). MOOCs are open-enrollment college courses offered for free (or a small fee) by some of the world's top universities. Most follow a similar structure: recorded lectures by a professor, guided discussions or assignments, and frequent quizzes to measure progress. Over 1.5 million people participated in one or more of these courses between 2008 and 2012, and the number is only going up. Of course, MOOCs come with their own sets of problems:
Instructors of MOOCs are working on ways to keep students engaged. They often break up the thousands of students into smaller study groups and message boards. Teaching assistants may be assigned to monitor and assess learning. Some courses take a non-traditional approach, making learning collaborative and cooperative rather than consumptive-- that is, the students take the lead in creating and experimenting, rather than than passively accepting from the instructor.
Motivation
Now that we have the materials and the method of distribution, let's talk about the driving force behind any achievement: motivation.
This is where I have a somewhat unique perspective-- I was homeschooled for most of my life, which in my case means that I've been in change of my own education since I was 9 years old. I didn't have grades or quizzes or tests, and I didn't have a teacher looking over my shoulder. My parents gave me a bunch of grade level material and assigned how much I needed to do per week-- but it was up to me when and how I did it.
MOOCs can provide the virtual classroom, but students need to create their own "class." From my experience and my fellow homeschooler's experiences (thanks guys!), I've come to recognize a few things that individually motivate people to learn:
MOOCs are great, but they are impersonal. People need to gain personal satisfaction through their education, and they need it to mean something beyond just having completed a no-credit course.
Putting it all together
As crazy as it sounds, I think that collaborative courses are the future of higher education. Instructors will still act as models and guides, but the sheer number of students that desire to participate will limit how directly the instructor can teach. Successfully engaged students learn by applying their learning to real life problem, whether they challenge each other in a chat group or apply their lessons through in the field jobs. The truest assessment of learning is doing. If we want people to stay engaged in these free (or relatively cheap) learning opportunities, we need to make sure the courses have both intrinsic and extrinsic value. Students need to be able to apply their learning. Employers need to encourage MOOCs as a form of continuing education. Universities and MOOC administrators need to keep the curriculum rigorous but flexible.
What I would like to see in the future is reachable higher education. Viral content like TED videos and educational TV shows can whet the appetite for knowledge, but they cannot feed it on their own. I want to see mobile games that engage people in biology. I want to see more apps that allow people to freely engage with experienced experts (like Quora!). I want to see worldwide access to technology, increased digital literacy, and opportunities for advancement with education.
If the desire for higher education is there, the technology will follow.
See Questions On Quora
Continue reading...
Let's start with something relatively simple: textbooks.
Quality college textbooks have long been the backbone of higher education, but they cost an arm and a leg and need constant updating. I once needed a psychology textbook that cost me $212 used-- a new copy from the bookstore was $279. At $104 per book on average, a college student can easily expect to spend over $1000 per year just on course reading materials. That's a huge barrier to higher education.
The big textbooks corporations (Pearson, McMillan, and McGraw-Hill) are finally making the move to digital media-- which sounds great for students who want to study in non-traditional settings. Digital textbooks are, on average, half the cost of the identical paper versions, are easier to obtain and carry around, and sometimes offer interactive features like hi-lighting, searchable content, and optional reading quizzes or notes.
However, digital forms of textbooks still have problems:
- They cost an average of $50 per e-book for a single semester rental.
- Because the majority of e-textbooks are rentals, students cannot resell, lend, or reuse books.
- E-texts usually only work on 1-2 operating systems (perhaps through an iPad app and a laptop browser, but not on a Kindle or an Android tablet)
If we want more students to freely engage with all of this information, we need to expand free digital libraries. Public libraries will probably not get government funding to do this, so organizations like the Gates Foundation have already spend almost 20 years and millions of dollars helping to provide internet access and e-books to underfunded libraries around the world. Multiple websites have started to collect free textbooks in PDF, EPUB, and ZIP files. Even if it's not feasible for all textbooks to always be free, we can probably achieve free quality textbooks in all major subject areas in the near future.
Method of Mass Distribution
OK, now we have materials, but how do we get people from all walks of life to engage with our awesome materials? The simple answer is MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). MOOCs are open-enrollment college courses offered for free (or a small fee) by some of the world's top universities. Most follow a similar structure: recorded lectures by a professor, guided discussions or assignments, and frequent quizzes to measure progress. Over 1.5 million people participated in one or more of these courses between 2008 and 2012, and the number is only going up. Of course, MOOCs come with their own sets of problems:
- Only 5-25% of students who enroll in a MOOC actually complete it, according to a 2013 Stanford study. With enrollments of over 10,000 students per course, it's possible that as few as 500 will complete all lectures and assignments.
- The credit that students earn usually cannot be transferred or applied to a degree, at least not without a hefty fee and formal assessment test.
- Students must self-regulate their own engagement and progress with little feedback or encouragement
Instructors of MOOCs are working on ways to keep students engaged. They often break up the thousands of students into smaller study groups and message boards. Teaching assistants may be assigned to monitor and assess learning. Some courses take a non-traditional approach, making learning collaborative and cooperative rather than consumptive-- that is, the students take the lead in creating and experimenting, rather than than passively accepting from the instructor.
Motivation
Now that we have the materials and the method of distribution, let's talk about the driving force behind any achievement: motivation.
This is where I have a somewhat unique perspective-- I was homeschooled for most of my life, which in my case means that I've been in change of my own education since I was 9 years old. I didn't have grades or quizzes or tests, and I didn't have a teacher looking over my shoulder. My parents gave me a bunch of grade level material and assigned how much I needed to do per week-- but it was up to me when and how I did it.
MOOCs can provide the virtual classroom, but students need to create their own "class." From my experience and my fellow homeschooler's experiences (thanks guys!), I've come to recognize a few things that individually motivate people to learn:
- Personal interest/engagement with the topic-- if a 8 year old decides that they like frogs, they can absorb frog information like sponges.
- Feeling of accomplishment-- the best moment in learning is where you suddenly realize that you understand something you couldn't before.
- Success and rewards-- not just "if I do x I get y," but truly feeling that your education has been useful in making you a better person.
MOOCs are great, but they are impersonal. People need to gain personal satisfaction through their education, and they need it to mean something beyond just having completed a no-credit course.
Putting it all together
As crazy as it sounds, I think that collaborative courses are the future of higher education. Instructors will still act as models and guides, but the sheer number of students that desire to participate will limit how directly the instructor can teach. Successfully engaged students learn by applying their learning to real life problem, whether they challenge each other in a chat group or apply their lessons through in the field jobs. The truest assessment of learning is doing. If we want people to stay engaged in these free (or relatively cheap) learning opportunities, we need to make sure the courses have both intrinsic and extrinsic value. Students need to be able to apply their learning. Employers need to encourage MOOCs as a form of continuing education. Universities and MOOC administrators need to keep the curriculum rigorous but flexible.
What I would like to see in the future is reachable higher education. Viral content like TED videos and educational TV shows can whet the appetite for knowledge, but they cannot feed it on their own. I want to see mobile games that engage people in biology. I want to see more apps that allow people to freely engage with experienced experts (like Quora!). I want to see worldwide access to technology, increased digital literacy, and opportunities for advancement with education.
If the desire for higher education is there, the technology will follow.
See Questions On Quora
Continue reading...