Learning as we type

Education: it's knowledge, it's information; it's what you despise waking up for every morning until age 18 and what you miss the moment you graduate from college. It's debated about, fought for, deprived of, and needed. It's one of the most vital instruments in functioning and productive society and can single handedly determine your value and success in the real world.

Who, what, where, when, and how we educate students is a matter that is constantly evolving, and has been since the introduction of mass education. It's amazing to think that only a few centuries ago, the only people in the world allowed to be educated were Jesuit priests and very wealthy (and even that wasn't a guarantee). Thanks to the founding fathers of the United States, a system of public mandated education was put into place where the masses would be funded to learn. 

As education has changed over time, so had technology, and much of their evolution has been intertwined. The development of "adding machines" took mathematics to an entirely new level; type writers increased writing speeds by immensely, and computers inevitably brought about the ability to research topics without lifting one book. 

Now, our interactions with the internet have lead to a new territory: virtual classrooms. Forget typing and researching, that's child's play for students who don't even need to attend a classroom to receive college credit. Currently, I'm taking a class in the online context, but what does that entail? Individual study, online test taking, dependence on forums, and much more. What are the repercussions of such an alteration to the traditional in-person interacting lectures? We shall explore these topics in the coming posts.