Within the world of education, there has been talk and speculation for many years about the threat that the internet has on traditional education. Much of this comes form the fact that we possess so much knowledge at our fingertips when we use the internet, coupled with the fact that anyone can create their very own online business in a heartbeat, thus negating the need to work.
In spite of this talk about the digital generation and its impacts, I fail to see that this form of education will ever die, and instead, it is likely to simply move with the times, as it always has. Recently was chatting to family friend Patrick Lanning Oregon resident like myself and a man who gained his doctorate in psychology, after much debate, we both agreed that education as we know it will never die, and here is exactly why.
Requirements
Whether you like it or not, there are still many jobs in the world of work that require you to have a certain level of education. Whether you want to come president, a government official, a lawyer, a doctor or even a psychologist such as Dr Lanning, you will need to have a certain education in order to achieve such positions. Whilst you can of course learn about things online, no hospital on the planet would allow you to practice as a doctor because you watched an autopsy on YouTube, and this is something that will never change.
Social Skills
Going through education is not just about learning science, history or language, it is also about teaching young men and women vital social skills which they will depend on throughout their life. Education helps people to become more confident, more round and ultimately better people who can feel confident in social situations. If we decide to get rid of educational facilities and instead encourage people to learn from their laptops, they will be missing out on the chance to build a relationship, learn things about themselves and ultimately improve as a person. Imagine if you were to get a job based on your online learnings, how would you be in a work environment? What kind of relationships could you build having spent most of your life sat behind a computer? As you can see, it simple isn’t practical.
Hands-On
Not all subjects are taught straight from a book and therefore these topics can not be substituted by an online program. Take sports for example, one could of course study the history of a particular sport, they could study the techniques, the methods, the strategies and the requirements, but that doesn’t mean that reading up on basketball will make you the next Jordan. Within a large number of topics, there are hands on activities which are necessary for learning, and a computer simply cannot replace these activities.
What are your thoughts on the digitalisation of education, will it take over, or will it simply improve the traditional systems which we already have?