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Bill Gates Says Internet Will Offer the Best Education in Five Years
If you didn't get into your college of choice, don't worry. Bill Gates thinks that where you get your college soon won't matter. According to Tech Crunch, Gates said last week at the Techonomy 2010 conference that, over the next five years, the Internet will offer a better education than the collegiate model. "Five years from now on the Web, for free, you'll be able to find the best lectures in the world," he said. Gates emphasized the high cost of the "place-based" college model (i.e. sweating it through Biology 101 in moldy basement labs), and argued that technology can radically cut the high costs of a traditional college education -- to as low as $2,000. These lower costs could make it easier for anyone to get an education.Don't get too excited about the death of the real world classroom, though. Gates claims the current K-12 educational model is still essential for students, specifically lauding immersive charter schools, as well as hybrid approaches that combine technology learning with real world discussion. At the college level, though, Gates says, "the self-motivated learner will be on the Web." [From: Tech Crunch, via: Engadget]
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Comments
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Subscribe to commentspapam11Aug 10th 2010 2:03PM
Higher education is essential to everyone. Unfortunately, most don't have $50-100K to spend on a good one. I see that online courses are just as expensive as "in school" classes. WHY? Even state community colleges are way up there in fees per class. Some classes are $600-800 per class(nights). If there are 15-20 students per class, that's $9-16K per 8 week course. And these classes aren't being taught by top of the line PhD's, nor do class expenses even come close to 15% of that. So what's wrong with this picture?
Dr. JamesAug 10th 2010 5:04PM
Ummmm, papam what's wrong with your picture is that you don't know what you're talking about.
Graduate classes with premium tuitions are capped at 25 students, and we have to fight people off.
The big schools have WAY too much overhead, but don't assume that goes to the faculty.
You can go to great state schools with tution and fees under $10K per full year.
You couldn't be more wrong that the best faculty don't teach online. Distance education, done right, substitutes technology for transportation. We have HD monitors, synchronous real time two-way videoconferencing, with real people whom we can see and converse with 1,000 miles away.
Wrongo, Toots.
Gates is still full of "S" but that doesn't make you correct.
JoAug 10th 2010 2:03PM
Although it may be true that lectures will be available online,
watching a lecture and acting like a "sponge" is not the same as a
two-way interchange between professor and student, or having the
opportunity to discuss subjects with other students. College is
about so much more than taking up space in a classroom as a passive
participant. It is about living experiences, friendships, community,
internships, group projects, theatre, music, travel, sports, pep
rallies, dorm living and spring break trips. Sorry, but an "online"
or "virtual" degree will never provide the depth of learning and
experiences that an on-site college degree offers.
LDSinSPOkaneAug 10th 2010 2:10PM
Gates puts it into REAL world terms. Sitting in a classroom with a disinterested professor turns more young adults off than it ever educates. We need to find new ways to learn, and the educational establishment is little more than a babysitting service for the young folks. Once you reach college age, you are hopefully able to learn in a more independent manner for the rest of your life. Be a lifetime learner and explore new things all the time to stay fresh. Once you have a degree it is just the beginning of your educational endeavors. Keep going, broadening the scope of interest to see beyond just what is needed today.
I think Gates is great
www.truegroundspeedAug 10th 2010 2:17PM
"Self motivated". That's the real issue across the board. This guy hasn't been in an urban public school classroom much.
Ira PalmerAug 10th 2010 2:35PM
Funny how easily we accept the status quo and think along the same worn grooves. I believe he's right to an extent. The so called classroom experience can be replicated to a large extent. Exceptional teachers can be videotaped and shown to millions with interactive capacity built-in to the presentation. Grad assistants can handle many of the questions that come in and you can flip back to sections that were troublesome - all at a fraction of the costs parents are shelling out. With some well thought out programming/controls this could prove to be a meaningful tool for many in our society; especially those who can't afford or lack access to traditional ' higher education ' and those who work well in this medium, like grad students.
roadwarriorAug 10th 2010 2:36PM
Why worry about an education in five years when the only jobs left in America will be burger flippers.
So then we won't need the internet either.
CharlesAug 10th 2010 2:38PM
If you know where to look you can self educate right now via the internet. College education is really overrated and way over priced
georgeAug 10th 2010 2:47PM
Bill gates plan means more money for him, I think he is nuts with this plan.
BarryBarrySteepAug 11th 2010 4:33PM
Where I live, online schooling for K - 12 is really starting to take off. "Social Skills", can be learned through interaction in, boy/girl scouts, little league, martial arts class's, 4H, etc...
There are just too many problems with public education, particularly the teacher student ratio.
Do you know "several winners" of the National Spelling Bee were "home schooled"?
If its working for the kids, I think Bill Gates is right on the mark about college.
(Just my opinion)