When the Indian born Satya Nadella was announced as the new CEO of
Microsoft this is what he said,"I am a lifelong learner who buys more
books and signs up for more online courses than he could ever complete.I am
just crazy ambitious in the 15 minutes I have in the morning. You know, I'm
trying to listen to a neuroscience class or something,
Self learning unequivocally has been the highest form scholarship.
Greatest geniuses and freethinkers were self taught in many ways. Eg.
Aristotle,Da Vinci ,Einstein and even Bill Gates to a great extent. What
astonishes me now is the amount that people pay to earn lofty degrees. On one
hand we talk of the internet spreading its tentacles in every possible nook and
cranny of our lives and on the other the skyrocketing costs of getting a higher
education degree. In this day and age when Google has answer to every question.
Why then go for the expensive alternative?
My views have been contradicted by people telling me that computers cannot replicate the classroom experience . The best of the teachers come at a price and that the college and hostel accommodation and infrastructure need to be paid for. Clearly education in such a case is bound to be the privelege of the rich. The challenge of the time lies in making education accessible to everyone. This will upgrade skills and make the work force more employable which in turn will strengthen economy. It was probably because of this reason why the former govt had launched the NPTEL stream on youtube where IIT professors were asked by the MHRD to upload their class lecture in video format so that the rest of the country could utilise it. Economist Jagdish Bhagwati had expressed that he was bullish in advising erstwhile Education Minister Kapil Sibal to harness online education to employ the workforce. It was probably this reason why the current budget emphasised using online training programs. “ To take advantage of the reach of the IT, I propose to allocate a sum of Rs.100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.” Said Mr. Jaitly
My views have been contradicted by people telling me that computers cannot replicate the classroom experience . The best of the teachers come at a price and that the college and hostel accommodation and infrastructure need to be paid for. Clearly education in such a case is bound to be the privelege of the rich. The challenge of the time lies in making education accessible to everyone. This will upgrade skills and make the work force more employable which in turn will strengthen economy. It was probably because of this reason why the former govt had launched the NPTEL stream on youtube where IIT professors were asked by the MHRD to upload their class lecture in video format so that the rest of the country could utilise it. Economist Jagdish Bhagwati had expressed that he was bullish in advising erstwhile Education Minister Kapil Sibal to harness online education to employ the workforce. It was probably this reason why the current budget emphasised using online training programs. “ To take advantage of the reach of the IT, I propose to allocate a sum of Rs.100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.” Said Mr. Jaitly
In what is now known as the disruptive technology in education MOOC(Massive Open Online Course) is here to break such myths(or
atleast I hope so). The sci -fi writer and visionary Issac Asimov had predicted
long back that there will come a time when Man will use a tool that will
disseminate information in waves and going to school will become redundant. I
am not sure if Pink Floyd had heard Asimov while making the song "We don't
need no education".
What started with a few DIY (do it yourself) videos and Khanacademy is
now burgeoning into the gen- next education tool. Having been an active learner
and MOOCer ,I can't believe how befitting coursera has proved to be.While tomes
were always available,the audio visual form of lectures is more comprehensive
than any other form. I personally download these lectures . The courses are
spread over a month or two. Each week is afresh with new lectures. On an
average there are 6 lectures per week. Each lecture being only 10 to 15 minutes
long. You can download them on a weekly basis on your smartphones. I personally
spend 15 minutes after lunch or dinner and go through these lecture while
strolling(multi tasking at its best!) . You could go through them while commuting
on metro or while sitting on the local bus en route office. Then take
half an hour on Sunday to fill up the weekly tests. The gamut of courses
range from medicine,business,economics,philosophy ,statistics ,management and
engineering.
The websites certify you on course completion
if you clear the cut off marks. Websites like coursera,edx,udacity,iversity
have most of their courses for free. You get a certificate of accomplishment
mentioning your name on these certificates. However If you want a verified
certificate with your picture on it and a certificate of distinction with your
final score you may have to shell out a
sum of 40$. This too isn't much as most
of the universities are of international repute.The courses have active forums
where you can shoot a question to the professor or connect with international
students and learn from each other.
On the flip side,statistics
also suggests that many students who sign up for these courses don’t always
complete them. Though a lot of people enroll for courses,but only a certain
percentage is able to sustain the discipline and rigour to finish the courses. A few of my
inquizitive friends roll into too many courses at one time,and end up finishing
none.I would advise them to go for one course at a time. This is because one has to be self motivated
for learning through this medium just as is the case with other certification
exams.Another issue lies with the acceptability of these certifications.While
the US is accepting MOOC with linkendin.com hyperlinking your certificates to add
credentials to your resume,the trend has still to be accepted in India. Marissa
Mayer's Yahoo has tied up with with coursera and is sponsoring courses for its
employees and so has Mc Afee.
Most Importantly,It is the passion for knowledge and learning that needs to be kindled. Freethinkers and self learners will get massive leverage through these programs. Only then can we harness MOOC for skill enhancement and nation building. Here is a TED talk that will provide you food for thought on similar lines . In a country teeming with below poverty lines families’ children,a concept like this would work wonders.
Most Importantly,It is the passion for knowledge and learning that needs to be kindled. Freethinkers and self learners will get massive leverage through these programs. Only then can we harness MOOC for skill enhancement and nation building. Here is a TED talk that will provide you food for thought on similar lines . In a country teeming with below poverty lines families’ children,a concept like this would work wonders.
