As an online English teacher I tend to feel that I’m some sort of a pioneer in this new frontier of the “Virtual School”.
Educators are just beginning to see the power of online education and are starting to realize that the internet isn’t just a “way to kill time” while trying to escape a boring day job.
Unfortunately this uncharted territory has its detractors and this Op Ed piece in the New York Times is quite critical of the growing trend of universities putting lectures online.
The author makes some excellent points mainly bemoaning the loss of community due to the lack of personal contact between professors and their virtual students.
Clearly the internet is not meant to replace the real benefits of attending courses offline. Instead its suppose to facilitate this ever costly goal of attaining a well rounded education.
In the end the real success of online campuses won’t be when they replace brick and mortar schools but when transitioning from one to the other feels effortless.
Checkout the article and let me know what you think!
The Trouble With Online Education – NYTimes.com.
While your at it feel free to contact me for more information about my online English lessons.