The Tech Edvocate

Top Menu

  • Advertisement
  • Apps
  • Home Page
  • Home Page Five (No Sidebar)
  • Home Page Four
  • Home Page Three
  • Home Page Two
  • Home Tech2
  • Icons [No Sidebar]
  • Left Sidbear Page
  • My Account
  • My Speaking Page
  • Newsletter Sign Up Confirmation
  • Newsletter Unsubscription
  • Our Brands
  • Page Example
  • Protected Content
  • Register
  • Request a Product Review
  • Shop
  • Shortcodes Examples
  • Signup
  • Start Here
    • Governance
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • The Edvocate
  • Topics
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise

Main Menu

  • Start Here
    • Our Brands
    • Governance
      • Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
      • Careers
    • Write For Us
    • Contact Us
    • Books
    • Edupedia
    • The Edvocate Podcast
  • Topics
    • Assistive Technology
    • Child Development Tech
    • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech
    • EdTech Futures
    • EdTech News
    • EdTech Policy & Reform
    • EdTech Startups & Businesses
    • Higher Education EdTech
    • Online Learning & eLearning
    • Parent & Family Tech
    • Personalized Learning
    • Product Reviews
  • Advertise
    • Request a Product Review
  • Apps
  • Tech Edvocate Awards
  • The Edvocate
  • Pedagogue

logo

The Tech Edvocate

  • Start Here
    • Our Brands
    • Governance
      • Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
        • My Speaking Page
      • Careers
    • Write For Us
    • Contact Us
    • Books
    • Edupedia
    • The Edvocate Podcast
  • Topics
    • Assistive Technology
    • Child Development Tech
    • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech
    • EdTech Futures
    • EdTech News
    • EdTech Policy & Reform
    • EdTech Startups & Businesses
    • Higher Education EdTech
    • Online Learning & eLearning
    • Parent & Family Tech
    • Personalized Learning
    • Product Reviews
  • Advertise
    • Request a Product Review
  • Apps
  • Tech Edvocate Awards
  • The Edvocate
  • Pedagogue
  • Universities Use Blockchain To Streamline Student Services

  • Top 7 Education Apps for the Classroom

  • Should Parents Also Know How to Use E-Learning Platforms?

  • Advances In Text-To-Speech Technologies Help Computers Find Their Voice

  • Campuses Have Used IoT Projects to Promote Convenience, Security, and Comfort for Students

  • Home-based Learning Tips For Parents: 6 Tips For Effective Learning

  • K–12 Leaders Get Creative to Make the Case for Network Upgrades

  • Network Segmentation Boosts Wi-Fi Performance And Security For K-12 Schools

  • The IoT In Higher Education Has Big Potential If Devices Are Kept Secure

  • How Schools Are Recruiting New Teachers Virtually

EdTech NewsHigher Education EdTech
Home›EdTech News›The devil’s bargain of online learning that technology can’t change

The devil’s bargain of online learning that technology can’t change

By Matthew Lynch
June 30, 2016
Spread the love

This article was written by David Glance

Challenges of Online Education

Georgia Tech has become the first university to offer a Masters degree based on massive open online course (MOOC)-style courses in partnership with MOOC provider Udacity. Costing less than $7,000, the offer of the online course attracted about 2,360 applicants of which, 375 have started their degree with courses that cover Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Robotics.

Already though, administrators at Georgia Tech have been grappling with the unique set of problems that the new MOOC students have brought to the college. The main issue is one of “calibrating” students to the challenge that they have set themselves, especially if they are working full time and have been out of full-time education for a significant period.

The challenge of online education is not unique to elite universities like Georgia Tech. A report released recently by the Public Policy Institute of California has detailed an analysis of 10 million students at California’a community colleges of which 11% are now enrolled in online courses. The results were mixed. Short-term outcomes for the online students were worse than those attending courses on campus. Failure rates were about 11 – 14% higher for online students. Grades were also lower. These differences also varied depending on the race, gender and age of the students. White or asian, older and female students did better than younger, male, African-American students.

The paradox was that students who took online courses were more likely to go on to a full degree programme. So overall, more students were getting an education through the online offerings but this was coming at a cost for their overall short-term outcomes.

The results of this study illustrate a number of things when looking at the use of technology in education generally, but also online education specifically, whether it is a MOOC or any other form of offering. The first point is that students are not a homogenous group who will respond uniformly to any given approach or application of technology. This makes it very hard, if not impossible, to treat education as a process for which there are undiscovered efficiencies to be exploited, even though this is something that politicians, including Obama in the US, have been extolling universities to do. The simple fact of the matter is that education requires two participants in the process, with the student arguably being the one that at the end of the day is required to put in the most effort. This is not a process that can be sped up or done in the absence of that effort.

Efficiencies within the higher education sector can only be achieved if the expectations of both the suppliers and consumers are fundamentally changed. As it stands, students are paying for education irrespective of the outcomes. They expect in return that Universities will do their utmost to ensure success. With a different approach, universities could just offer online courses with no support and simply accept high drop-out rates. This could be coupled with a notion of a pay-if-you-pass business model in which students would be willing to accept little assistance from the education providers if they were not required to pay unless they succeeded in passing the course.

Once the model is changed, technology could very well bring in the required efficiencies by reducing the need for full-time academics to steward the students. Without a change in approach, we are left with a labour-intensive process that requires effort from both the educators and the students. The role of technology in this process is still equivocal. A study of research on the impact of technology on education over the past 40 years has concluded that there is a moderate benefit, but as highlighted in the report on online learning in community colleges, the complexity of environments, student demographics, what is being taught and by whom, makes it very difficult to tell.

There may well come a day when artificial intelligence has developed to a point where personalised, one-on-one tutoring is possible for all students, ensuring the best educational outcome at the lowest cost. Until then however, efficiencies in the process of higher education will come at a cost of placing more of the onus on the student and accepting the outcomes. In this context, technology will indeed support managing larger numbers of students with fewer staff and politicians at least may be happier as a result.

The Conversation

David Glance, Director of Innovation, Faculty of Arts, Director of Centre for Software Practice, University of Western Australia

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.


Spread the love
TagsEdtechedtechchatelearningSTEAMSTEM
Previous Article

Technology improves higher learning, it doesn’t kill ...

Next Article

Meet three schools that will use technology ...

Matthew Lynch

Related articles More from author

  • Best of the Best ListsEarly Childhood & K-12 EdTech

    The Tech Edvocate’s List of 27 Assessment Apps, Tools, and Resources

    July 22, 2017
    By Matthew Lynch
  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

    10 ed-tech resources for school administrators

    August 14, 2017
    By Matthew Lynch
  • Higher Education EdTech

    How is Technology Revolutionizing Campus Libraries?

    August 28, 2017
    By Matthew Lynch
  • EdTech Startups & Businesses

    Ed Tech Companies That I Really Love: Part II

    June 26, 2016
    By Matthew Lynch
  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

    Students Should be Taught to be Digital Leaders Instead of Digital Citizens

    January 3, 2018
    By Matthew Lynch
  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

    Why learn spelling or math if there’s an app for that?

    June 8, 2017
    By Matthew Lynch

Leave a reply Cancel reply

  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

    Gamify Reading for Maximum Student Engagement

  • Uncategorized

    Why is a STEM education important? Because it’s going to help me build a better water system for Ethiopia.

  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

    10 Characteristics of an Innovative Classroom

Search

Login & Registration

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Newsletter

Signup for The Tech Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in EdTech news and opinion delivered to your email address!

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Universities Use Blockchain To Streamline Student Services

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 22, 2021
  • Top 7 Education Apps for the Classroom

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 21, 2021
  • Should Parents Also Know How to Use E-Learning Platforms?

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 20, 2021
  • Advances In Text-To-Speech Technologies Help Computers Find Their Voice

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 19, 2021
  • Campuses Have Used IoT Projects to Promote Convenience, Security, and Comfort for Students

    By Matthew Lynch
    January 15, 2021
  • 20 Top Virtual Reality Apps that are Changing Education

    By Matthew Lynch
    March 11, 2017
  • 7 Ways Technology Is Impacting Modern Education

    By Matthew Lynch
    March 4, 2017
  • Why Mobile Technology Enhances Instruction

    By Matthew Lynch
    December 14, 2016
  • What is the Future of Online Learning in Higher Education

    By Matthew Lynch
    April 2, 2018
  • 7 Roles for Artificial Intelligence in Education

    By Matthew Lynch
    May 5, 2018
  • Campuses Have Used IoT Projects to Promote Convenience, Security, and Comfort for Students - The Tech ...
    on
    January 15, 2021

    9 Examples of the Internet of Things in Education

    […] Institutions with campus-wide ...
  • Home-based Learning Tips For Parents: 6 Tips For Effective Learning - The Tech Edvocate
    on
    January 14, 2021

    The 3 Types of Interaction During Online Learning

    […] providing students with ...
  • A Bad RAP – SAM P LENOX
    on
    January 13, 2021

    Cyberlearning vs. Elearning – Is there a difference?

    […] in learning more about ...
  • Network Segmentation Boosts Wi-Fi Performance And Security For K-12 Schools - The Tech Edvocate
    on
    January 12, 2021

    5G Networks Promise to Make Instructional Technology Better

    […] already mentioned, there ...
  • Creating Powerful Learning Experiences in Google Classroom – MarkerSpace America
    on
    January 12, 2021

    Creating Powerful Learning Experiences in Google Classroom

    […] Read full Story ...

EdTech Policy & Reform

  • EdTech Policy & Reform

    How Much Bias Is Okay in Your School?

    Spread the loveThe algorithm has proven itself to be a handy tool when it comes to solving education problems. It’s also not without bias.  You may be wondering how some ...
  • EdTech Policy & ReformFeaturedFresh

    Edtech Should Complement Good Pedagogy, Not Attempt to Replace It

    Spread the loveThe newest generation of edtech is downright amazing; it’s no wonder that various education stakeholders might be a little excited about its potential to transform education. However, edtech ...
  • EdTech Policy & ReformFeaturedFresh

    How to Teach Kids to Communicate in This Digital Age

    Spread the loveWhen even the youngest children are spending the equivalent of a full work day looking at screens, it is perhaps no surprise that parents are wondering how to ...
  • EdTech FuturesEdTech Policy & Reform

    3 Reasons Why India Will Be A Leader in the EdTech Industry in the 21st ...

    Spread the loveAccording to a joint report by KPMG and Google, the online education industry is expected to grow at a healthy rate of 8 times to become a $1.96B ...
  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech Policy & ReformFeaturedFresh

    How Does Technology Immersion Shape the Brain?

    Spread the loveDo you wonder what all of the screen time we have is really doing to our brains? As edtech continues to rise in prominence throughout the world, this ...

EdTech Startups & Businesses

  • EdTech Startups & BusinessesOnline Learning & eLearning

    Using Nudge Theory in Your Corporate Online Learning Classes

    Spread the loveAfter reading this headline, you may be asking yourself, what is nudge theory? Nudge theory centers on positive reinforcement and inferred suggestions to motivate a person to complete ...
  • EdTech Startups & Businesses

    Bringing Education into the Business World

    Spread the loveU.S. businesses spent nearly $20 billion on training in 2019. That number decreased by roughly half from the year before. Companies aren’t providing fewer professional development opportunities for ...
  • EdTech Startups & Businesses

    You Must Include These 3 Things in Your Edtech Business Plan

    Spread the loveDo you have a business plan? It’s the one question you’re going to be asked a lot as you begin your edtech business. The reasons to write a ...
  • EdTech Startups & Businesses

    Edtech Marketing Ideas to Implement Right Now

    Spread the loveEven if you do have the most exceptional edtech product or service in the world, you’ve still got to market it. Your sales and your success depend on ...
  • EdTech Startups & Businesses

    How Your Edtech Startup Can Make the Leap from Failure to Funded

    Spread the loveThe best ideas in edtech are often only ideas. They never become a reality because they lack the funding they need to get off the ground. Taking an ...

Digital Equity

  • Digital EquityDigital Leadership

    How Can You Assess the Tech Needs of Your Students Outside of School?

    Spread the loveToday, I received an email from the middle school principal in Los Angeles. She explained to me that the school that she ran was in one of the ...
  • Digital Equity

    It Is Time for the Edtech Industry to Stop Denying Its Equity and Race Problem

    Spread the loveThe EdTech industry is dominated by white employees, white leaders, and white entrepreneurs. If you doubt this statement, just attend an Edtech conference. Admittedly, educators and others don’t ...
  • Digital Equity

    How OER Can Help Overcome the Higher Education Equity Barrier

    Spread the loveThe cornerstone of the American dream is the ability to succeed in life regardless of one’s family of origin. And, for most people, that requires a college education. ...

EdTech Futures

  • EdTech FuturesOnline Learning & eLearning

    IT Trends To Watch As Higher Education Moves Into a New Decade

    Spread the loveEdtech couldn’t have hoped for a better launch into the new decade than the push the industry received from COVID-19. Even the most tech-resistant institutions and individuals have ...
  • EdTech Futures

    4 Emerging EdTech Trends in 2021

    Spread the loveCovid-19 has not only changed education as we know it, but it has forced education technology (EdTech) to up its game. EdTech has been crucial since the start of this ...
  • Adult EducationEdTech & InnovationEdTech FuturesEducation LeadershipEducational LeadershipHigher EducationHigher Education EdTechThe Future of Education

    Education Technology and the Future of Higher Ed Leadership

    Spread the loveEducation Technology (EdTech) has had a more significant impact on education than anyone expected. Now its effects are reaching into the field of higher education. In this article, ...
  • EdTech Futures

    Top Edtech Trends for 2021

    Spread the loveAre you ready to look ahead? Schools will soon be reflecting on what’s been working this year and what’s not. They’ll also begin thinking about their budgets for ...
  • Early Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech Futures

    In the Wake of Teacher Shortages, Schools are Turning to Virtual Teachers

    Spread the loveTeaching was once a greatly respected position, and today, morally it still seems to be of high value to many Americans. Institutionally, however, teaching no longer seems to ...

About Us

Since technology is not going anywhere and does more good than harm, adapting is the best course of action. That is where The Tech Edvocate comes in. We plan to cover the PreK-12 and Higher Education EdTech sectors and provide our readers with the latest news and opinion on the subject. From time to time, I will invite other voices to weigh in on important issues in EdTech. We hope to provide a well-rounded, multi-faceted look at the past, present, the future of EdTech in the US and internationally.

We started this journey back in June 2016, and we plan to continue it for many more years to come. I hope that you will join us in this discussion of the past, present and future of EdTech and lend your own insight to the issues that are discussed.

Newsletter

Signup for The Tech Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in EdTech news and opinion delivered to your email address!

Contact Us

The Tech Edvocate
5322 Markel Road, Suite 104
Richmond, VA 23230
(601) 630-5238
advocatefored@gmail.com

Follow us

Copyright © 2021 Matthew Lynch. All rights reserved.