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Can you learn as much from the Internet as you would get from a college education?

Results so far:

Yes		43%	114 votes	Total: 265 votes
No		57%	151 votes	Total: 265 votes

Yes

1 of 12

One absolutely can learn more on-line than from a brick and mortar school. What qualifies me to answer this question? I have a traditional four year degree from a brick and mortar school. I also have an MBA that I achieved through an accelerated program via a reputable on-line University. It's no secret looking at my transcripts that I achieved far better grades while attending school on-line. Comparatively I maintained a 3.0 during my undergrad yet I finished my Masters program with a 3.8 - the highest GPA I have ever received.

With technology on the rise and lifestyles busy, hectic and overloaded with too much to do in a single day, it is no wonder that more and more people are turning to the Internet as a schooling option. I worked full time jobs through both of my education experiences. It was far easier to fit school into my life when I was doing so on-line. Though I had to have impeccable time management skills to balance all my deadlines and participation requirements in live chat sessions and lectures, it was worth it. Instead of sitting through hour long lectures in the middle of the day when my attention span was short, I was able to sit down in the evenings and devote my full attention to an active participation lecture or study session after I had time to decompress and regain my focus. My retention of information increased exponentially because I was able to focus. And instead of being in a controlled, or simulated educational environment where we talked in hypotheticals, I was discussing real business situations with veterans of the work field and directly applying the knowledge I was gaining to my daily life. This aspect alone of my on-line education was priceless. It put all the book knowledge I was garnering into action in immediate and real situations. It's hard to do that at a traditional school where the bulk of your student body is coming in straight from high school where they have not had the opportunity to work in Corporate America yet.

I swore after my bachelor's degree that I would never go back to school. I hated the experience. It was too demanding of my time and not supportive enough of what I was trying to accomplish. I felt lost in the herd, shuffled around like cattle. It was not something I ever wanted to experience again. But working as an admissions advisor for an on-line university I began to see I had more options. On-line learning environments foster communities that encourage open communication and growth. Professors are available via email and often times also for phone conferences. They provide all the tools necessary for a student to be successful and the responsibility is then placed on the student to grab hold of their education and make of it what they will. Make no mistake on-line education is hard. It is challenging and if you chose an accelerated program like I did you will be working your butt off. I gained my MBA in Organizational Psychology and Development in just 10 months. This is typically a two year program at a brick and mortar school.

With knowledge only a mouse click away and all the tools for success at your fingertips on-line learning is a viable option that is growing in popularity. As technology continues to increase and the need for a flexible education gains momentum on-line learning becomes a tool, an opportunity for the masses to achieve their goals on their schedule. It's an opportunity for students to learn more than just what a text book can tell them. It's a platform to discuss and grow in your business field while you learn. Can a brick and mortar school really do all that? They can prepare you for the future. They certainly can provide you a well-rounded education, there is no doubt about that. But on-line education connects you with like minded individuals, often times from all around the world, who are serious about their education and provide some of the richest educational discussions you will ever find.

Learn more about this author, Kristin Lee.
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No

1 of 7

by Jon Dainty Sr.

Education changes a student's life. While it is perfectly accurate to claim that years of exposure to the river of information available via the Internet probably will leave them wet, one cannot continuously swim in the river. A student seeking to improve life through the acquisition of learning should take instruction in more rigorous ways than Internet use affords.

Intellectual instruction

Following is a small part of one method of instruction which worked well. It was crafted by James Mill for his son, John Stuart Mill:

1. The student is required to read from a substantive text and then on the next day give an oral summary of what he read.

2. The teacher then comments on important ideas connected with the ideas the student has summarized. The student is then required to state in his own words these explanations and summaries.

3. The student is required to read the works of important thinkers he would himself never choose to read, but that illuminate important traits of mind. (Elder and Cosgrove, p. 3)

This method challenges the mind of the student and requires real engagement with the material rather than simple exposure. The argument on the other side, of course, is that materials gleaned from the Internet may also challenge. An important missing element, though, is teacher-student interplay, which inculcates critical thinking skills at a higher level as the instruction continues while also varying the types of exposure to the materials.

Reading and recitation may be on the agenda for one or more days. Then reading others' work gives way to writing one's own commentaries and original pieces, then offering these up for discussion and editorial development. The process is materially improved by the participation of others whose ideas will also be addressed in logical fashion.

Moral instruction

While some might question its importance initially, this instruction concerns the character of persons with regard to issues of right and wrong or, to put a finer point on it, concerning their conformance with accepted standards of conduct. In short, there are ways in which people everywhere ought to act, and while the Internet will allow us to read all about them and view video regarding the interactions of people, these moral questions require discussion with real people face to face.

For instance, we might posit that it is better for a disgraced military officer, once convicted of treason on forged evidence, to rot in a military prison than to continue fighting for his good name. This very situation developed in 1894.

Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the largely Roman Catholic French army, was imprisoned after his conviction for passing classified information to the Germans. When a new chief of intelligence revealed that the evidence against Dreyfus was false, the chief himself was reassigned and silenced.

Only in 1898 were the hands of two other French officers revealed in the affair, and it took until 1906 for Dreyfus to be cleared, readmitted to the army, and awarded the Legion of Honor. (Stewart, p. 204)

"Doing the right thing" is important, and education must include instruction in the means and reasons for this way of life. Internet exposure is a good source of information, but true education is life-changing.

Social instruction

The social order is what keeps most citizens civil toward one another; sees most of them obeying traffic signals; and compels many of them to offer volunteer services to the community. Social skills are best learned in the company of other members of the society, despite the fact that information concerning many nations is freely available to view via the Internet.

Education is most effective if it changes a solitary life into an interdependent life, transforming a potential problem citizen into a smoothly functioning, well adjusted member of an orderly society. We must teach social skills, right and wrong, and the proper function of our communities early in life, as Skiba and Peterson note below:

"Surveys of high school students reveal a startlingly high proportion who are unaware of effective methods for solving social conflict (Opotow, 1991). Instruction for all students in the social curriculum may thus help address widespread misconceptions among today's youth about the nature of conflict and problem-solving." (Skiba and Peterson, p. 7)

Intellectual, moral, and social instruction are key parts of effective education. Despite the ubiquity of Internet access and use among especially younger members of society, traditional colleges and universities evidently retain their edge in transmitting the knowledge and the values of society better than the Internet. Perhaps in future that will change; for now, we use what we can to learn as we must.

Works Cited

Elder, Linda, and Rush Cosgrove, John Stuart Mill: On Instruction, Intellectual Development, and Disciplined Learning (September 2007), accessed 18 June 2009 at http://www.criticalt hinking.org/files/Jo hn_Stuart_Mill_Instr uction.pdf.

Stewart, Robert, The Illustrated Almanac of Historical Facts: From the Dawn of the Christian Era to the New World Order. New York: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Skiba, Russ, and Reece Peterson, Teaching the Social Curriculum: School Discipline as Instruction, accessed 18 June 2009 at http://www.unl.edu/s rs/pdfs/teachsocial. pdf.

Learn more about this author, Jon Dainty Sr..
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