A World Where Grades Will be Left Behind
By: Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY
Sebastian Thrun, a Google vice president and Stanford research professor, has started up his version of learning, which is completely free, available to anyone, and fun. Udacity offers free online courses taught by the top professors of the world. As the article notes, Udacity is not the only revolutionized change in education. Many teachers have adopted the concept of a "flipped classroom," in which videos are watched at night and homework is done in the classroom by students. Charter schools in Chicago and New York City have centered their curriculum around game-playing. Thrun says that technology is giving the opportunity to educators to "personalize education and scale it up". In 30 years, he thinks that classes will include challenging exercises and quizzes directed to gain mastery of a skill or concept. There will be no limits in the number of students in a class. Furthermore, he says that grades will no longer exist and students will be given enough time to master a skill. He believes that "the Internet will democratize education".
I believe that online, free courses are a great way for providing access to education to those who do not receive it or to those that want to learn something out of his or her field. It is also great for those who are struggling. On the flip side, not being able to go to a classroom is a clear loss of learning many skills. Students may not be able to master skills such as time management, being on time, group work (person to person interaction), responsibility, respect, etc. Schools provide a ground in which students can learn such things. In 30 years, I believe that classrooms should still remain. However, in these classrooms, teachers should function as mentors, encouragers, advisors, and motivators. Students, rather than the teacher, should push the instruction forward. The Internet should unquestionably serve as a medium of learning. The article points out that failure is not an option. But, sometimes failure is a good thing. It teaches you what to avoid and how to avoid it. Moreover, it teaches you how to achieve success.
By: Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY
I believe that online, free courses are a great way for providing access to education to those who do not receive it or to those that want to learn something out of his or her field. It is also great for those who are struggling. On the flip side, not being able to go to a classroom is a clear loss of learning many skills. Students may not be able to master skills such as time management, being on time, group work (person to person interaction), responsibility, respect, etc. Schools provide a ground in which students can learn such things. In 30 years, I believe that classrooms should still remain. However, in these classrooms, teachers should function as mentors, encouragers, advisors, and motivators. Students, rather than the teacher, should push the instruction forward. The Internet should unquestionably serve as a medium of learning. The article points out that failure is not an option. But, sometimes failure is a good thing. It teaches you what to avoid and how to avoid it. Moreover, it teaches you how to achieve success.
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