Online Courses Have Reached A Turning Point That Should Seriously Scare Colleges
"It's not as good as being in the classroom"
The course was the same one MIT teaches freshmen, reproduced as faithfully as possible. The professor was Eric Lander, who helped lead the Human Genome Project and co-chairs President Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In addition to that impressive pedigree, Lander is actually an excellent teacher, Carey writes.
The lectures are the same, videotaped a month ahead. There are "deep dive" videos with TAs and grad students on tricky topics And as for the notion that you miss something not being in the classroom? Dead wrong, Carey argues.
Carey made the trek out to MIT for one of the live lectures. "Based on what followed, I can say this: Live and taped lectures really aren’t the same. Live lectures are definitely worse," he concluded.
There's a lot to be said for the pause button, especially when there are complicated diagrams and ideas. There's even more to be said for being able to watch a nicely produced HD video on your own time, as anyone who's been stuck at the back of a lecture hall can attest.
Beyond the pause button, the edX platform allows all sorts of visualization and interaction, from molecule editors to a protein-folding simulator.
You miss the interaction with the professor, but how many students take full advantage of that?
Read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/online-courses-are-challenging-college-classes-2013-6
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