Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-L] Who is driving on-line ed?


On 2014, Jan 03, , at 22:34, Ze'ev Wurman <zeev@IEEE.ORG> wrote:

On 1/3/2014 10:01 PM, Bernard Cleyet wrote:
Who Is Driving the Online Locomotive? - Advice - The Chronicle of Higher Education

http://chronicle.com/article/Who-Is-Driving-the-Online/140505/#!


One more example of the evil of capitalism.

Perhaps we read different articles but the one I read suggests that the evil is the administrative state and its reach into the academe (i.e., IHE admins). I've long ago matured from socialism (smile) but I can wholeheartedly agree to its obvious conclusion: drastically reduce the administrative state, a.k.a. "Big Government." (another smile)

Ze'ev
_______________


No not the administrators — they just follow the dictates of the requirements of capitalism. [the iron hand]
==========
My observation is that administrators, along with a handful of true believers among the faculty, have always been the primary proponents of online learning. On campus, at least, they're the ones driving the train.

Why? The main reason, I believe, is money. Online courses enable colleges to enroll students and "deliver content" inexpensively, since they don't require classrooms, parking spaces, restrooms, or, in some cases, even faculty offices. I've heard people argue that, done well, online courses can cost just as much as the face-to-face variety. That may be true, but I dare say that at most two-year colleges, they are offered as cheaply as possible, and that is one of the reasons, if not the main reason, for their existence.

============

Unless the capitalists become enlightened, i.e. tax themselves so the administers will have the money to hire the teachers, pay for the parking, offices, etc., MOCS will continue unless there’s enuff “push back”. In a democratic socialist society money is made available. Before Thatcher everyone in the UK capable went as far as they wished. [That included council grants for board and room!] A means test for the wealthy, yes.

bc better late than never. And thinks we’re becoming a banana republic.