Friday, May 22, 2020

The rise of online learning raises questions about the price we put on education - Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Quartz India

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused educational institutions worldwide to go online, and the current debate about the value of online education is analogous. Just as an e-book must be cheaper than a regular book, some people feel that an online class must be cheaper. Others feel that online education is inadequate because of decreased human interaction. However, for every such comment, I have heard its opposite and more. Indeed, many students have reported that they are interacting more in class than ever before. Not only is it easier for a hesitant student to communicate using text, they now see professors up close and personal rather than at a distance of 20 metres and over the backs of multiple heads, and this is a generation that likes communicating through screens.