Computers have successfully replaced college professors

by moshe 22 Replies latest social current

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  garyneal

  They told me that when you're on your own, you have to figure everything out yourself. Sure, you can email your teacher a question, but you've got to wait to get a response and then maybe it's not clear and you have to ask again, etc. Conversely, most questions can be explained/handled in person in a fraction of the time.

  I cannot argue with this as I have had experiences where I wish I could speak to the teacher outside the class beyond e-mail and the phone too. I guess in my experience though since the teacher was being broadcasted live over satellite it was easier. Those classes had two way communications which allowed us to talk to the teacher via a microphone during class. If we missed class, we could get the video tape of the class we missed (since all classes were taped). Some teachers did a role call of all the students (as well of all the satelite students) to ensure that students would not skip class during class time and only watch the tapes later. Most professors, however, did not care so long as the student did the work and mastered the class.

  The third ad in this series kind of describes what we had. And it was not brought to us by AT&T.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MnQ8EkwXJ0
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  littlerockguy

  Im sorry I know this off topic but gary, you were talking about all the expenses students have now I just went to Amazon to check out getting a copy of Harbrace College Handbook since I cannot find my copy and there is a 1995 version, I think it is the 13th ed. that sells for about $12 and there is the 18th edition that sells for $102, however you can rent it for $45 I was WTF????!!! Why in bloody hell is the newest edition that frickin expensive???!!

  LRG
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  jws

  I've taken online training courses through work. Read some material, answer questions. I've also taken training courses with live instructors. In these cases, the online training was no substitute for an instructor. You can ask an instructor questions. Even questions beyond the material. I got more out of training with instructors.

  I've also taken college courses where it was one big lecture hall and so impersonal. The professor just lectured and there was no interaction, no raising of hands. These might as well have been online (except that was a few years before online options were available).

  Jobs change. There will still be instructors, they'll just be creating the course material. After that, computers will take over the delivery with maybe less knowledgeable instructors like TAs will answer questions.

  As a parent facing future college costs, I like the idea of things to reduce costs. These days there's no need for a lot of paper books and the printing costs involved (huge cost gone). If courses can be online without instructors, there's no huge teacher salaries to pay. If all of this can be done online from anywhere, there's no need to send a child off to a dorm and the costs involved in that. They can live at home cheaper. Costs of college could plummet dramatically.

  I do however feel that getting away from home provides some lessons on independence for the kids. Gives them a chance make new friends and even learn some lessons the hard way. Which isn't always a bad thing.

  Colleges would still be necessary. Certainly some courses require hands-on training. For instance, medical students can't exactly disect cadavers at home. But there is plenty that could be online.

  Imagine that so many more people could afford higher education. Then the elites of this world would have to find some other way to create a divide between themselves and the less fortunate. It'll probably be whether you paid thousands more and went to a brick and mortar college or not. Just like Ivy league vs. your regular colleges.
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  DATA-DOG

  Does this mean I can take an online course from my I-pad and not miss Thursday night meetings?! I am sure the Elders would not mind as long as I make it to the KH. The money I save by not going to a campus can be used by the WTBTS!
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  garyneal

  Why in bloody hell is the newest edition that frickin expensive???!!

  The whole thing about college textbooks never really made that much since to me. Oftentimes, you would buy a very expensive book since it was required for the course only to find yourself seldom opening it during the class. I remember taking one course, called Navigating the Internet, and the textbook for the course was some manual teaching you how to use Netscape Navigator. I thought, "You have got to be fricking kidding me, a book teaching Netscape Navigator?!?!" I did NOT purchase that book.

  
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  Pterist

  There are some free theology classes on the Open Yale University web site, loved it !

  http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies
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  MrFreeze

  Pterist, MIT has the same thing. Pretty cool stuff:

  http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/
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  Pterist
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  moshe

  I would think that parents and students should be demanding that colleges provide as many cost saving online classes as possible. I know that colleges have a lot of seasoned and tenured faculty who have contractual employment/retirement obligations and I believe this economic gotcha keeps their lecture hall classes from being phased out by cheaper online classes. Regular businesses don't have the luxury of delaying progress in order to maintain employment and legacy benefits in the face of global competition. The bricks and mortar option is bound to get downsized and a lot of professors will be put out of work. In the future, going away to college, will be so , old-school.
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  Band on the Run

  I will be very vocal if my college offers more than a few online courses. Ivies and comps have large endowments. I can read books by myself. College is so much more. Few profs are well paid. These people have the brains to be CEOS, lawyers, and investment bankers. College should not be high school.

  Looking back on my experience, a culture permeated the campus. Hard questions were valued more than answers.

  The whole dorm experience is important while harldy enjoyable at the time. Some of my best college memories involve Star Trek and Beatles jokes on the dorm elevator. Example: Captain Kirk, McCoy, Spock and four unnamed crew members go down to a Class M planet. Four members of the party are killed. Which four members were killed? The battle of the Beatles tribute bands could not happen online.

  The ease of online teaching is remarkable. I know my own life that I always pay more attention to a live speaker. B/c of my interests, I purchase inexpensive tickets for National Constitution Center events. The auditorum is small so the setting is intimate. I can see Tom Daschle, Brian Williams, or a Supreme Court justice on the nightly news or C-Span. Hearing them in such a small space is different. First, I believe I can be an important actor in my life. They are only human in person. The celebrity dust is not present. I can engage in conversation with them afterwards. Meeting other members of the audience over wine and cheese brings insights and fun.

  I fear the elite colleges will offer some online content for money. There is a massive class system in America. These courses can accelerate the disparity. We are social animals. Another huge factor for me is that even today if I have professional or other work to do at home, I go to the local library. It is better to me around other people working. My suffering is lessened by being around other people working. I recall the relief of stressed students in campus elevators.

  Why are printed text book prices so outrageous in price? I realize they will cost more than regular books. Profs. today incorporate online materials and hand out additional materials. Some barely use the text but still assign it. Law books are very expensive. They are basically edits of cases already available to the public for free. If the editors decide to add five new cases, a new edition is printed. We all knew we could read these cases for free by simply reading it in the state reporter. We all lined up and paid the outrageous price. When 1/3 of the content changes, perhaps a new edition is in order.