The pitfalls of online education
Online education isn't the answer to all education-related problems. That's why traditional education will remain the most widely-accepted academic option.
When online education first came to market, it seemed like the solution to all education problems was finally found. All the knowledge in the world self-paced, self-navigated, available to the learners with any kind of background. A fairy-tale come true, or so many people thought.
The idea of bringing online education to life was so well-received, that it wasn't long before the rise of debates about integrating online education into the traditional compulsory education. How cutting-edge cost-effective and extremely individualism-enhancing that would be!
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If only.
It's been ten years since the launch of Alison and Khan Academy, enough time to collect some empirical evidence on what's working and what's not.
And so, here are the top three reasons why online education in its current form can't yet replace traditional education.
1. Low completion rates.
Self-paced learning is a good thing, but many people lose motivation very quickly. As a result, open enrollment online courses and MOOCs have extremely low completion rates.
2. Cheating is omnipresent.
It's virtually impossible to check if the test, task, homework or an essay has been written by the individual taking that course (see essay writing service reviews to get the full picture). It's equally hard simply to verify that the person enrolled in the course, and the person taking the course are the same individual.
3. At the end of the day, one's true qualification is virtually impossible to verify.
If one can pay someone to attend the course for them, get tests and assignments written by professionals and receive a copy of diploma by email, how good of a specialist are they going to be? Obviously, it's bad to generalize, but the global traditional education system is now standing on a concept that if a course is taken, it should be learned through and completed to count as a professional achievement.
Online education is great for self-motivated individuals, but for a wider audience, it lacks control and external motivation. Obviously, the situation can change anytime; but, before that happens, traditional education's here to stay.
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