Is the Khan Academy real education? You don't have to give yourself a pretentious "academy" title to provide information. A lecture video posted on line is one way communication, just as a book is. So for the graphic to be COMPLETE you'd have to include free public libraries in the 19th century and Wikipedia in the 21st. For the graphic to be ACCURATE you would exclude any non-interactive media. Without interaction all you have is information; education requires interaction - doesn't it?
Great comments, Col! Depends how you define "real"? You're not being elitist, are you? Isn't education all about learning, however that learning is achieved? Just because it's not happening in a formal university doesn't mean it doesn't work.
Good that you equate one-way communication as "not real education" - why are universities moving more and more of their lectures online? Seems like a move in the wrong direction.
And, finally, the infographic refers to how the internet Is changing education, so free public libraries in the 19th century really aren't relevant. But yes, Wikipedia should be there!
I'm unashamedly elitist, Wags, look at where I work and who I work with (both colleagues and students) - if you define elitism as striving for the best. Yes of course education can happen outside a university, it always has and always will be. I believe real education requires interaction. Universities that dump content on line aren't providing education, they are providing information, and thus moving dangerously in to a market already well served by existing publishers. More importantly, they are potentially moving away from education. The Open University (which pre-dates the internet by a long way, hence my suggestion for including public libraries into the concept map as well) built its success not just on publicly available broadcast lectures but on small group tutorials which were face to face in its early days. There is information, interestingly presented, and then there is understanding that information and how to use it in real depth, which I believe requires interaction with educators to work properly.
You're not being elitist are you Wags? :-) Of course educators can be fellow learners - that's one of the fundamentals of group work at its best. An educator doesn't need to have a business card saying so to be an educator - while professional qualifications help, they aren't essential. Ideally you'd have one professional educator and a small group of learners interacting intensively with each other on a particular issue. Must think of a word for such a thing...
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Is the Khan Academy real education? You don't have to give yourself a pretentious "academy" title to provide information. A lecture video posted on line is one way communication, just as a book is. So for the graphic to be COMPLETE you'd have to include free public libraries in the 19th century and Wikipedia in the 21st. For the graphic to be ACCURATE you would exclude any non-interactive media. Without interaction all you have is information; education requires interaction - doesn't it?
Great comments, Col! Depends how you define "real"? You're not being elitist, are you? Isn't education all about learning, however that learning is achieved? Just because it's not happening in a formal university doesn't mean it doesn't work.
Good that you equate one-way communication as "not real education" - why are universities moving more and more of their lectures online? Seems like a move in the wrong direction.
And, finally, the infographic refers to how the internet Is changing education, so free public libraries in the 19th century really aren't relevant. But yes, Wikipedia should be there!
I'm unashamedly elitist, Wags, look at where I work and who I work with (both colleagues and students) - if you define elitism as striving for the best. Yes of course education can happen outside a university, it always has and always will be. I believe real education requires interaction. Universities that dump content on line aren't providing education, they are providing information, and thus moving dangerously in to a market already well served by existing publishers. More importantly, they are potentially moving away from education. The Open University (which pre-dates the internet by a long way, hence my suggestion for including public libraries into the concept map as well) built its success not just on publicly available broadcast lectures but on small group tutorials which were face to face in its early days. There is information, interestingly presented, and then there is understanding that information and how to use it in real depth, which I believe requires interaction with educators to work properly.
"... requires interaction with educators to work properly."
Or with other learners?
You're not being elitist are you Wags? :-) Of course educators can be fellow learners - that's one of the fundamentals of group work at its best. An educator doesn't need to have a business card saying so to be an educator - while professional qualifications help, they aren't essential. Ideally you'd have one professional educator and a small group of learners interacting intensively with each other on a particular issue. Must think of a word for such a thing...
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