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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Why elite universities are turning to online education

Today I also have Samantha Gray guest blogging. Please be sure to check out her unique guest post. Guest posts are always welcome, please contact me.

Online education is no new phenomenon—there have been online college courses and general online education program available since the beginning of the web. But online education’s long history has done little to improve its reputation in the eyes of some educators, students, and parents who have avoided online education because of various negative stereotypes. Stories about degree mills, shady for-profit online education communities, and lower quality of learning have done great deal of harm to the public perception about online education. Isolated incidents have essentially made some people think of online education as a lesser alternative to traditional higher education.
Recently, however, traditional universities have begun to understand online college programs for their merits and advantages, and their efforts have done great things for online education’s image. More universities offer online classes every year, keeping pace with the increasing demand from students to take them. These online offerings aren’t relegated to any single academic area or discipline, either: colleges around the country provide online courses in quite a few subjects.
Now a recent opinion column from The New York Times indicates that many “elite” colleges (mostly Ivy League universities) have embraced online education as the way of the future. It’s an interesting move from the top colleges in the country considering the fact that most online education was stigmatized just a few years ago. So what changed?
The merger of technology and education
The move to include online courses into the college curriculum makes sense because the last few years have been shaped by new technologies. Smartphones, tablets, great wireless technologies, and more savvy usage of the web has opened the door to limitless opportunities for developers and educators to create a new and intellectually stimulating world. Educational apps, eBooks, interactive studying materials are just some of the technologies that have all taken the overall learning experience to a new level. In the long line of technological advances in education, online learning seems like the next step in a natural progression.
There’s a certain inevitability about online education. We spend so much time online communicating, learning, and sharing information on our own that it makes sense to receive some formal education in the same space. There are so many advantages to online education that aren’t available in traditional colleges: students have greater mobility, they can learn course materials on their own time, and they develop critical web correspondence skills (emailing, social media usage, general computer savvy) in the process.
Ivy League schools setting a (belated) example
The piece from The New York Times hints at quite an interesting point: that online classes are clearly part of a growing trend towards online and distance learning, and Ivy League schools are a little late to recognize their appeal. Online education has always been a viable option for students and professionals looking to hone their education, but as I said earlier it’s been difficult for many online colleges to overcome toxic stereotypes. But as the article states, over four million college students took online classes in some capacity in 2007, meaning that it’s no longer a form of teaching to be ignored. Some Ivy League schools have been quicker to offer online options to their students: both Yale and MIT have offered free online open course materials for quite some time now. Hopefully the greater quantity of online Ivy League classes will give more prominence and prestige to online learning.
What do you think about Ivy League involvement in online education?
This guest contribution was submitted by Samantha Gray, who specializes in writing about online bachelor degree.
Questions and comments can be sent to her email.

Many thanks to Samantha.
Enjoy your reading!