The internet can save everything, even education.
At least the parents and government officials of tech companies think so.
It's too bad. it's not true.
Our student performance is obviously lackluster, we believe that the lack of educational competition on the global stage, which makes us angry, supporters of the magical attributes of the network believe that if we only use the power of the Internet, we can save education.
They give free classes and guidance to the best teachers online, they argue at the meeting after the meeting, all of our educational ills will be cured.
In fact, all the leading educational institutions have been keen on the idea for years and more people have been online every day.
Just last week, Harvard and MIT announced a $60 million joint program called edX, which offers free online courses. (
You won't get credit, but students can get a certificate of completion and a score. )
The poster for the online education campaign for children is Kahn College, which has about 3,200 free education videos.
But one has to wonder if these online cheerleaders have ever seen the full "class" on the site, because if they do, they will immediately see the multitude of problems with this approach.
The first question is what I like to call a "talking hand.
Just like the extended version of the seinor wence routine ---
Not so interesting though. -
One hand or a pair of hands makes gestures and writes on the smart board, explaining linear algebra or microscore.
This lasted about 5 minutes, and then it was as exciting as the unboxing of Cnet Video recording smartphones.
When a pair of talking hands or simple stepsby-
Online step notes may help students to cram temporarily for math exams (
You can play back and slow down the course)
, This process does not work for other subjects.
A few history lessons I 've seen on Kahn's website about Napoleon prove what's wrong with the way history was taught years ago: it's just a chain of dates and events, there is no historical background or motive at all.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the live teacher in the classroom can do better, but at least in the classroom, the teacher can look the students in the eyes, show enthusiasm, and ask the students in an idea, to generate new ideas.
Without this connection, online video can make students completely numb and end up hurting students rather than encouraging them to keep learning.
In addition, there are a large number of courses where online mode does not work.
You can't do lab work in biology or chemistry online.
You can't use Socrates's method in the video to learn the philosophy course (
Will not help even Skype).
Students are inevitably affected by the lack of discussion with other students.
Facebook posts cannot be replaced.
However, the real fatal weakness of online video learning today may be poor production value.
A complete set of skills is needed to really attract students, including how to tell stories through videos, sounds and pictures.
It's not the skill that everyone has, and that's why Avengers is a good movie, Mission: Impossible ---
The ghost agreement is a smelly thing.
Some business online learning companies do understand this and do a solid business of providing "better than free" educational videos for specific audiences. Lynda.
Com, for example, offers online software training videos that are a good pain killer for those user manuals that are poorly written.
The company recognizes the importance of production value. -
And set up their own studio.
What's lost in all the hype about e-commerce
Learning is that a lot of learning is being done now.
For example, a survey of Indiana schools last year found that about 80% of teachers and students use some form of digital access or online tools inside and outside the classroom. Furthermore, e-
In teaching what many educators call a "Flipped Classroom", learning can be an excellent addition.
"Basically, the idea is to add pre-
Online classroom teaching, courses and videos so that when students enter the physics classroom, they are ready to discuss new topics through new materials, problem solving and discussion.
This "flip" approach can minimize the time teachers spend with students in class.
Students who miss a class or want to refresh their memory of a particular point can also use it.
Of course, online materials in flipped classroom methods cannot replace regular classroom teaching.
However, it can enhance students' understanding through digitally enhanced historical files, pictures, recordings and videos.
Recently, I used an online expert from Walter Lewin, a physics professor at MIT, to learn about the fundamentals of polarization through a speech he gave online.
Of course, this lecture is for primary school students, but it is perfect for me: Give a 9-year-
I have a keen knowledge of how rainbows are created.
On the other hand, while watching Professor Lewin's lecture ---
As energetic and helpful as he is-
I can't shake the idea why the online video course itself won't make us smarter: There's nothing more important than being there. Follow John R.
Quain on Twitter @ jqontech, or on J-Q. com.