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It's said that educated people are better citizens. So, why not *free* education for all via the internet?
Does anyone here have any numbers for educational costs in the U.S.? Knowing technology, I'm certain it can be "delivered" more cost effectively than the brick-n-mortor approach. But, I don't know the numbers. Can anyone here give actual numbers on costs for brick-n-mortor that don't include teacher costs?
I think it would be fantastic for people to be able to get on the internet and sign up for classes for free! That's not to say just any classes. But, expertly designed classes that are part of a linear progression for educating people in a virtual setting.
Nothing is free. Your system may appear to be cheaper, but I doubt it will be significantly cheaper than what we currently have. There will still be infrastructure costs. But most importantly, the effectiveness of your system is highly doubtful based on what we already know about the use of online education systems, particularly in higher education.
And since the other thread was closed, here are my responses to your comments:
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I'm not saying social interaction should be eliminated. Kids become much better at playing video games than their school work and that's all about sitting alone with a computer. Kids can still socialize but doing school work doesn't *need* to be a public event.
Video games are fun. Learning isn't always. And yes, research has shown that group learning can be more effective than isolated learning for a lot of students.
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Yes and those parents are from the brick-n-mortor only era!
The reason the parents in question don't teach their kids the value of education and fail at motivating their students to do well has little to do with how the parents themselves were educated. It has everything to do with their values system (which incidentally has little to do with schooling and everything to do with parenting and immediate environment).
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Its foolish to think that just because the information is delivered via computer that students won't experience other forms of learning while studying.
Oh yeah? What other forms of learning? The response you've given shows that you may not have understood the point I was trying to make. For instance, manipulatives are an important tool in the introduction of math concepts. Short of virtual reality becoming ubiquitous, there are still some huge gaps left by an online-only educational system.
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There's no reason to imagine that children need to be at a local school for any arbitrarily determined amount of time each day. What about the kids who spend most of their school day bored while getting good grades? What use is that time?
As stated above, because of said gaps (and the importance of group learning and socialization), there is clearly a need for students to spend time in a real school, with real peers and teachers.
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Why? Kids do much better with computing devices that their parents. It's a failing on the part of the adults not delivering information via computer. Also some of the college systems are horrible. But, good systems do well at educating people.
You're missing the point. Adult students aren't struggling with online education because they can't handle the technology involved in the computing devices. They're struggling because the online learning system is so sterile and lacking in support. And if adults struggle with such a system, there's no reason to believe that kids, with their short attention spans and lack of intrinsic motivation, are going to do any better. In fact believing that to be the case is almost ridiculous.
K-12? College level? A college student taking a course online is different from teaching a first grader reading strategies over the computer. Would the costs be similar? I think the younger children would benefit less from online courses.
I'm assuming you're talking about non-college courses for adults. But if it's free, meaning the student makes zero investment and is free to drop out any time without penalty, why would anyone take such classes seriously?
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
It's said that educated people are better citizens. So, why not *free* education for all via the internet?
Does anyone here have any numbers for educational costs in the U.S.? Knowing technology, I'm certain it can be "delivered" more cost effectively than the brick-n-mortor approach. But, I don't know the numbers. Can anyone here give actual numbers on costs for brick-n-mortor that don't include teacher costs?
I think it would be fantastic for people to be able to get on the internet and sign up for classes for free! That's not to say just any classes. But, expertly designed classes that are part of a linear progression for educating people in a virtual setting.
Don't be so sure. I have been involved with delivering 4-year university classes online, and the costs were -considerably- higher than brick and mortar. We had to pay fees for the content delivery system, we had to pay higher fees for copyrighted content than with brick and mortar, and the fees for software used in the class were enormous. This was on top of much much higher tech support costs.
As a result, the tuition charged for the online classes was 180% higher than for the brick and mortar class.
(And, teaching the class online was far more time consuming and difficult than brick and mortar. Despite the extra tech support assigned to the class, I was still spending hours tech supporting students myself.)
I think the younger children would benefit less from online courses.
Yes, the *youngest* would need more guidance at first. But as we see, kids are very tech savy and could accellerate their learning quicker than you think. If they're willing to spend so much time playing computer games and the game makers are willing to spend so much money to find a way to monetize that. Then I think it's a good sign we could *edutize* the internet.
...free to drop out any time without penalty, why would anyone take such classes seriously?
That's one of the reasons I'm looking for numbers about the brick-n-mortor system. I think that money could be better spent on a newer better virtual system.
People would take those classes seriously because they would be serious classes. People who stay in classes don't do it only because there is a penalty for dropping out! Education should not be a *fearful* situation. If someone wants to drop out then no problem. With automated systems they can come and go as they please (albiet not in the middle of sessions).
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