Bill Gates: Internet To Make Universities Obsolete

[exfileme]

Can't get into that high-level university? Soon you may be able to get the equivalent, and better, on the Internet for free.

Bill Gates: Internet To Make Universities Obsolete : Read more

 

[Guest]

Not obsolete. Although you have the study materials you will not gain on hand experience which is what counts.

 

[jonpaul37]

Amen, but this will mean that someone needs to find a reason to compel these students to study on the Internet, otherwise if there are no grades to shoot for, how will they know how they're doing?

 

[jimmysmitty]

[citation][nom]tpho2500[/nom]Not obsolete. Although you have the study materials you will not gain on hand experience which is what counts.[/citation]

In most high caliber colleges, there is no hands on experience. I have met quite a few people who have 4 years degrees in computer tech and even those with A+ certs. But beyond their book knowledge, they couldn't fix a PC for their life.

Some community colleges have hands on but are hard to work around.

But I don't think Gates is wrong. Technology is not evil and can provide our education system with a well needed boost. Its sad that my fiance from a poor Eastern European country had taken college level math, science and history during her high school years and we get parents complaining that their kids have to take a basic test to pass high school (in AZ anyways, and by basic I mean basic and easy as crap).

 

[tektek2000]

Apple will optimize the learning system with its new iGrad portable education system... good job Bill.. your paving the way again for Apple..

i kid..i kidd...

 

[brennon7]

I hope they throw away those crazy&^%$ text books. It's the biggest scam in the world $185 for a MATH BOOK? They should be free to download.

 

[unholygregor]

its been like that for a while now, you can find anything on the internet, its just a matter of knowing where to look......

 

[JasonAkkerman]

But where will the worlds twenty-somethings go to get drunk, have threesomes, and free themselves from the tyranny of their parents?

 

[hellwig]

This coming from a man who dropped-out of college. Just remember that. Yes, he's worth billions, but how many college dropouts you personally know are worth billions? Zero? That's what I thought.

Not to say online lectures won't expand the knowledge base of these people, but the ability to apply that knowledge is gained through repetition with homework, projects, labs, work, etc.. I don't think that even the most entertaining and insightful lecture from the most charismatic professor could teach you enough of what you need to know about a particular topic.

Online lectures also lack interaction. Ask a question on YouTube, and you'll get back a million "Cause you're a dearest comrade" responses before you get one back from the lecturer. That was my wifes complaint about a legitimate online course from a real accredited school that she paid for: no interaction. You get a pre-recorded lecture, and a list of problems to complete, and that's it. Its not really learning, but then again, I suppose it depends on the school you went to. Even a brick-and-mortar school might not be any better I suppose.

 

[Clintonio]

The (British) campus experience is something I'm glad I got to experience. It'll suck if it all goes.

And, where will the researchers go? It's a very important aspect of Uni.

 

[bison88]

Add a webcam to tuition (if you don't have one), a microphone, and set up a massive Skype like platform (Cisco) and you have yourself an online university. I am dying to sign up for online courses myself, unfortunately for many thousands of us who are veterans, it's not the University that's the problem but the slow VA that refuses to acknowledge e-learning classes as apart of the GI Bill. Also classes cost a little more to take as it is which actually works its way out when you factor in gas expenses, but currently I am forced to drive 15 miles every day to and from college alone when every class I've taken thus far could have been done online without the need for listening to a professor (especially when some don't give a crap about really teaching you).

The next generation of kids won't have to tackle these problems, lucky spoiled shits .

 

[redgarl]

I don't like Microsoft, but Bill Gates lately is really doing and saying great stuff.

 

[bildo123]

[citation][nom]JasonAkkerman[/nom]But where will the worlds twenty-somethings go to get drunk, have threesomes, and free themselves from the tyranny of their parents?[/citation]

Who cares? It's usually on mommy and daddies dime anyways.[citation][nom]hellwig[/nom]This coming from a man who dropped-out of college. Just remember that. Yes, he's worth billions, but how many college dropouts you personally know are worth billions? Zero? That's what I thought.Not to say online lectures won't expand the knowledge base of these people, but the ability to apply that knowledge is gained through repetition with homework, projects, labs, work, etc.. I don't think that even the most entertaining and insightful lecture from the most charismatic professor could teach you enough of what you need to know about a particular topic.Online lectures also lack interaction. Ask a question on YouTube, and you'll get back a million "Cause you're a dearest comrade" responses before you get one back from the lecturer. That was my wifes complaint about a legitimate online course from a real accredited school that she paid for: no interaction. You get a pre-recorded lecture, and a list of problems to complete, and that's it. Its not really learning, but then again, I suppose it depends on the school you went to. Even a brick-and-mortar school might not be any better I suppose.[/citation]

Your last bit is true. In all reality it comes down to the professor. I've had the infamous "powerpoint professor" who...well just read off powerpoints and said "complete these chapters problems" and that was the class. I've had online professors reply frequently to students responses and put constructive comments within submitted papers.

 

[nuvon]

Online university degree....yes, but for "FREE" hhmmmm......???? Definitely not from Microsoft.

 

[cadder]

"They're giant, intimidating books," he said. "I look at them and think: what on Earth is in there?"

Some of the biggest and most intimidating books I've seen are books you buy in book stores as manuals for Excel, Word, and modern programming languages. Maybe Bill should work on improving that.

And yes I wonder if his view of college is based on his much different experience from the rest of us. The internet is great, books are great, but sometimes a person standing there in front of a chalkboard can do in a few minutes what you cannot do in hours trying to do it yourself with books and the internet.

 

[maestintaolius]

[citation][nom]jimmysmitty[/nom]In most high caliber colleges, there is no hands on experience. I have met quite a few people who have 4 years degrees in computer tech and even those with A+ certs. But beyond their book knowledge, they couldn't fix a PC for their life.Some community colleges have hands on but are hard to work around.But I don't think Gates is wrong. Technology is not evil and can provide our education system with a well needed boost. Its sad that my fiance from a poor Eastern European country had taken college level math, science and history during her high school years and we get parents complaining that their kids have to take a basic test to pass high school (in AZ anyways, and by basic I mean basic and easy as crap).[/citation]
Not correct across the board. Coming from one of the top chemical engineering schools in the US, there were PLENTY of hands-on courses, particularly the dreaded Unit Ops. The experience for other engineers and science majors was similar. Other engineers I have met during my career from different schools have all had a fairly decent amount of hands-on training from their schools, it was usually the poorer engineering schools that had less hands-on, not the high-end ones in my experience.

While I have no doubt there will be a lot of good lectures available on the internet, the problem will be filtering through them. Any idiot with a webcam and a degree from a 'degree mill' will seem credible to the unwashed masses. The "University of Google" comment from Jenny McCarthy concerning vaccines and her followers being a readily available example. Stephen Colbert's term of "Wikiality" and the elephant article edit also comes to mind. I see a great danger resulting from the "I saw it on the internet, therefore, it must be true" syndrome.

 

[long2know]

Well, you still can't get an accredited engineering degree online. Try taking a electronics lab online..

 

[husker]

Gates may be able to give away billions of dollars and still remain a billionaire, but others are not so fortunate. The "best lectures in the world" are likely to be copyrighted intellectual material belonging to either the lecturer or the school. To promote the free access of them on the net is no different from promoting any other type of piracy whether it it movies, games, or books.

 

[fulle]

I would love to see the day where any US Citizen could log onto free online courses for a wide variety of core classes, such as English Composition, and College Algebra II. You know, instead of getting charged $400-1700 for that same class, taught by a grad student.

 

[kinggraves]

Bill's absolutely correct, US colleges are nothing more than expensive babysitting anymore. Getting in requires little other than the basic knowledge you'll need to keep up and a fat wallet to pay for the tuition, plus the hidden fees like books that end up managing to be more costly than tuition. Online colleges can remove many of those hidden fees and leave the process up to one of pure learning. There won't be any college experimenting or campus life to distract students. The problem is that all a diploma adds up to when searching for employment is how much prestige the school has in the eyes of your employer. Online colleges without a brick and mortar school backing them up do not have a lot of credit yet. It's also a poor replacement for technical trades where hands on experience is critical. That problem could be solved with a hybrid method however, hosting workshops at small campus locations, but still leaving the lectures and research libraries to online content. Large campuses are fun and a part of the "college experience", but they're no longer necessary for learning.