The Learning Curve
Isn’t it odd or sad that, when I was of an appropriate age to learn, I did not have much use for it and now that the need for education has clearly shifted, I can not get enough of it?
My high school and especially my college years were marked with ambitions that lay far away from classrooms, and unfortunately were not in the innovative spheres of famous drop-outs either.
This may be one of the reasons why I have been closely following the shift in higher education.
Originally higher education was the privilege of a few, gradually adding middle-class access, often through government support. Unfortunately this support is declining fast: between 2007 and 2012 US funding per student has fallen almost 30%. Meanwhile costs are soaring, and student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion, with tuition rising 4 times as fast as consumer prices overall.
Furthermore a college education is no longer the guaranteed entry ticket to the professional classes. Rapid innovation is eliminating certain jobs and changing others, causing people to adjust their skill sets continuously.
Thankfully access to higher education is changing just as fast, mainly due to technology. The internet is upending education in terms of availability and convenience.
In the last 18 months I have taken 6 online courses: 2 at Sotheby’s for which I paid and 4 via MOOC, or “Massive Open Online Course” which are free. MOOCs are offering top level lecturers and academics to everyone worldwide. The idea is great: high quality education delivered to people who cannot afford the cost of university study. The reality is different: People who know about MOOCS and enroll in them are educated professionals who want to study different topics of interest, want to brush up on some previously acquired knowledge or take a course that may help their career advancement. Few hard-working or uneducated youths are taking advantage of the system, even though it is free and can be accessed at any time. One can even claim that at the moment MOOCs reinforce inequality rather than diminishing it.
At this time online courses have no formal system of accreditation, which would improve enrollment and commitment tremendously. At the moment the drop-out rate at MOOCs stands around 95%. Being free and available day and night proves to be a disincentive to discipline and perseverance. The fact that you are not considered an official alumnus of the providing university does not help.
This being said, I love my MOOCs, and I am not alone. Check out John Cook’s Confession of a MOOC Addict. The fact that you can learn whatever you want, and interact with people across the globe, some of which I subsequently met in person, is fascinating. The range of topics is endless. I can hardly imagine a better way to spend free time.