<p>Hi,
After graduating from an ivy league institution last year, I began to look back on the past four years and realize how much more I could've learned from having supplemented my courses with online education classes. </p>
<p>I'm curious, what are you parents' thoughts on online education and its future? Will it ever replace traditional lecture-style schooling?</p>
<p>Curious about your thoughts...Cheers!</p>
<p>I think there are some students who will be able to learn easily and willingly from on-line education. My fourteen year has been taking a course via edX where he watches lectures on his computer, references a book (but not the suggested course textbook, for reasons unknown), and then submits problem sets. I couldn’t imagine my sixteen year old doing the same. The sixteen year old gains a great deal from classroom discussion and is an active participant; the fourteen year old resents the time wasted.</p>
<p>Some high schools are piloting a program where students are required to watch the lecture as homework so that when they arrive at class the following day, involved and informed discussion takes place. The ability to pause a lecture to review a confusing section would be of great benefit to slower learners.</p>
<p>I believe we will see significant changes brought about by the spread of MOOCs, but I cannot predict the exact course. I hope that online education supplements classroom learning as live, human interaction is such an important part of the college experience.</p>
<p>I am sure online education has its followers and serves some good purpose as well but I am skeptical whether it would ever replace the Socratic method used in say law schools. Which makes online education more conducive for some and not so for other subjects?
The point is education is not about taking exams, attending classes and stuff, its also about making friends, finding new partners, spouses, etc. Bill and Hillary, Obama and Michelle met in law school. Harvard alumni hire Harvard graduates in their companies because of networking and stuff. Can online education do all that? </p>
<p>I don’t see an issue supplementing classes with online coursework. But until businesses figure out how to reward work-at-home and work-at-work employees equally, it’s hard to see online courses becoming predominate. Someday perhaps. But right now, success in our society relies on mixing social skills with professional skills.</p>
<p>“According to a 2013 study by American Express (AXP) and Gen Y research firm Millennial Branding, managers have an overall negative view of young workers, and point to their lack of soft skills regarding communication and interpersonal interactions, time management abilities and willingness to work as a team.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/01/30/skills-employers-wish-college-grads-had/?intcmp=obnetwork”>http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/01/30/skills-employers-wish-college-grads-had/?intcmp=obnetwork</a></p>