Online education

In the article “An open mind” we can read about a new education which is mainly online. It is a project executed by several universities which allows students to take courses from the comfort of their home through their computer. But it provides students with much more benefits than just comfort. Those benefits are:

Education for everyone

Entering a university is not something easy to do. You need money, good grades, recommendations and much more, but thanks to the online education the requisites become bearable barriers. Students who do not have the money to go to the university but who truly desire to have education (and quality education) can find it in these online courses. This action translates into open the doors of the university and the knowledge to the public in general.

No grades
Even though the article refers to the critic for the projects because they do not provide students with grades and certificates, but in other point of view it can be seen as a benefit because it eliminates extrinsic motivation leaving only intrinsic motivation: the desire to learn more.

Overcrowded classrooms
Typical issues students have to deal with at the university are overcrowded classrooms and restrictive schedules. But having flexible time tables and no more students than the one using his/her computer solves those issues. The problem could be the absence of peers which helps with interactive learning, but it can be solved with projects such as University of People that allows students to receive feedback and grades from their classmates.

• The Open University
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/l185.htm
• MIT Open Course Ware
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-223-listening-speaking-and-pronunciation-fall-2004/
• Utah State Open Course Ware
http://ocw.usu.edu/English/introduction-to-writing-academic-prose/index.html