class warfare

As we look to the future of higher education, said the M.I.T. president, L. Rafael Reif, something that we now call a “degree” will be a concept “connected with bricks and mortar” — and traditional on-campus experiences that will increasingly leverage technology and the Internet to enhance classroom and laboratory work. Alongside that, though, said Reif, many universities will offer online courses to students anywhere in the world, in which they will earn “credentials” — certificates that testify that they have done the work and passed all the exams. tom friedman n y t 1-27-2013____________________________________________________________________ i wonder why tom is always so far behind the curve on these sorts of things...i took my first on line class from iu in the fall term of 2008...a labor history class to be exact...got an "a" too...all it really took was the ability to read the text and string two or three cogent paragraphs together that were germane to the topic...something like a more formal form of blogging...not that much of a stretch actually...and if there were credentials that came along with it i have yet to receive them ( not that i am one to dwell on credentials when so much of this life is an empirical sort of roller coaster that renders a good portion of formal learning irrelevant...they don't put that in the syllabus and it is doubtlessly an observation that some would roundly disagree with...but what do i know? )...some of the academics i know have embraced the on line university but most respond with reactions ranging from quiet unease to outright loathing with those farthest removed from computer science...liberal arts and humanities for instance...being the most outspoken proponents of classroom experience...all of which is fine and good but does not excuse tom form being such a plodding jerk or the engineering and technology centered geeks at mit from being patently biased about the value of on line learning...like all learning you only get out what you put in and i really need to see how they verify that each student has "done all the work and passed all the exams" when they only know them through a screen...my relationships with academics have not always been peaceful and loving but they were face to face and the amity and enmity as well as my grasp ( or lack thereof ) of the material were fairly plain to see...i am, in fact, enrolled in an on line class this semester and am fairly confident it will go well...but that doesn't mean i don't miss eye contact.