A reader makes a good point, but at great length, so the following is
my precis of his email.
Internet education could be a real growth point very soon. For simply
learning stuff (as opposed to accumulating paper credentials, having a
good time, etc.) the internet beats college no contest. It beats
books, too. You can set up a real interactive learning experience,
with audio, video, & hands on. (“I hear, I forget. I see, I
remember. I do, I understand.”) You’re alone at the computer–max
concentration, as opposed to ogling the girl three rows in front in
the lecture hall. Educators, if they really cared about ACTUAL
LEARNING, as opposed to money, power, & prestige, should be all over
this.
This sounds right to me. Outfits like The Teaching Company should be getting their courses on the web & finding some way to credentialize graduates. Who knows? In a couple of decades,
5,000-student colleges might go the way of 5,000-worker factories. I
sure wouldn’t be shedding any tears.