Revolutionizing Higher Education February 25, 2010

Disdain rings in the woman’s voice as she looks at me, “Oh, you’re home schooled” she says and then abruptly turns away with a sour look on her face. Not everyone is like that though. A lot of people say the same words “Oh, you’re home schooled” in a tone of admiration. What drives people to react in these opposite ways is the fact that home schooling is itself non traditional. Some believe that traditional institutionalized education should be retained at all costs, while others have opened their minds to innovation. This bias does not end with secondary education though, it caries over to higher learning. Amid rising tuition costs and a falling job market, the current system is inadequate. College must be reformed. The best way to revolutionize higher education is through the development of online resources. Harnessing the full power of the Internet will reduce the costs and increase the effectiveness of college.

The creation of the Internet is the single most important invention since the printing press. The Internet allows people from opposite ends of the earth to come together in real time and share information. We can see the affects of this by how easy it is to find out almost anything through a simple Google search. The Internet contains a wealth of information available to everyone. It has been an indispensable resource for my mother in my own and my sibling’s unconventional home education. The Internet holds game changing potential, but how do we harness that power?

Development of a software platform that allows student networking and collaboration will help drive the improvement of higher education. While that may sound like a complicated mouthful it is really rather simple; a computer program that operates along the lines of the very popular “Facebook” for the purpose of learning could do the task. Because of the nature of the Internet the users of a “learning facebook” would grow exponentially. By building a network of people interested in developing online resources for education, the amount and quality of educational resources will increase dramatically. Wikipedia, although not perfect, has built the best encyclopedia in the world this way. Another example is the way I was able to learn Pixar style computer animation using only online resources. Those resources were there because there was an online community to build them. As a result I was able to learn 3D animation without spending a penny. In like manner, developing a software platform would grow a network of people who would create the online resources needed to drive the betterment of higher learning.

A software platform of this kind would greatly reduce cost to students. Many students go to a four-year university and unwittingly bury themselves in mountains of debt. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, tuition has increased 4.39 times the rate of inflation (Callan 10). It is my desire to get married, have a family and live debt free; the costs of college would make that impossible as it has for thousands of students. CLEP and DANTES tests offer credit to students for learning that takes place outside of the classroom. A student could take free online courses that have been created and then take the CLEP test to the corresponding course and earn credit. Something like this would work well with other non-traditional programs like CollegePlus! which offers students over phone coaching and the ability to earn a degree in two years. The Internet could provide the material for learning and the coaching would provide the guidance and motivation. Thus, college could become far cheaper than it currently is by developing a software platform to multiply the number and quality of online resources.

A type of “learning facebook” would not only drive down costs, it would also improve the quality of education. Online education will allow a learning experience tailored more to the individual than is possible in traditional classroom instruction. It will allow more learning by doing, which engages students where they are and will make their education far more useful. John Robb, CEO, analyst and Yale graduate has said, “The business world is already shifting to online collaboration as a replacement for most in-person work” (Ind. Ed.). A student who already is used to online work will be of far more value to an employer than his traditional counterpart. Robb has stated that he is actually more likely to hire someone who used distance learning, “The choice demonstrates an ability to improvise” (Col. Deg.). The US department of education published a report that observed, “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction” (Means et al. 11). The opportunity of online education offers a more effective education to the student.

Excellence in a degree is to be found also in the way it affects your spirit. Thousands of young people lose their faith after attending universities each year. Having a healthy spirit in line with God’s is far more important than one’s academic abilities or education. Distance learning allows the student to study at home, with quick and easy reference to a Bible, elders and other spiritual leaders. I want an education that enriches my spirit, instead of the loss of faith that so many students today are experiencing. There’s more to quality than dollars and cents, at the end of the day it all comes down to the condition of your soul.

The best way to revolutionize higher education is through the effective development of online resources. I envision a world where a student can find high quality college courses online for free. This is the revolution of higher education, where a software platform that allows networking and collaboration cuts costs, and provides a more beneficial and spiritually enriching learning environment. By opening our minds to innovation we can change higher learning the same way homeschooling is reforming secondary education.

The spark of revolution is there, and it will soon burst into flame.

Works Cited

Callan, Patrick M. “Measuring up 2008”. 2008 National Report Card.

Measuring up 2008. National Center for Public Policy and Higher education. n.d.

10. Web. 15 February 2010.   http://measuringup2008.highereducation.org/print/NCPPHEMUNationalRpt.pdf

Robb, John. “Industrial Education”. Global Guerrillas. 13 January 2010.

Web. 2 February 2010. http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2009/01/industrial-education.html

Robb, John. “A College Degree for $99 a Month”. Global Guerrillas. 04 September 2010.

Web. 3 February 2010. http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2009/09/journal-a-college-degree-for-99-a-month.html

Means, Barbra et al. “Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning:

A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies”. US Department of Education. May 2009. Web. 15 February 2010.

http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf