Is There a There There: Online Education and architectureX: architectureX Encompasses All of the Spaces for Learning Activities That Are Not Easily Replicated Online
2014; Society for College and University Planning; Volume: 42; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0736-0983
Autores Tópico(s)Open Education and E-Learning
ResumoINTRODUCTION IS THERE A THERE THERE when it comes to online education? And if is a there, what is the architectureX for edX and other online providers? What are the architectural implications of placing more and more educational materials online for students at traditional universities? These are the questions that sparked this research to determine how architecture might evolve to meet the needs of online on both the traditional university campus and beyond. In searching for the answers, it quickly became clear that the in this digitized, dematerialized realm of is found by looking for what makes the flesh-and-blood, brick-and-mortar material realm still relevant--even essential--to education. And so with some irony and a little bit of obviousness, looking for the in online became a study of what cannot be done online ... or at least not done online well. These are the early days of online even though it started to take root in the 1990s. It has been only in the past two years that the growth of online has accelerated, fueled by the interest of major universities and venture investors and the growing access to bandwidth. It has also helped that entities such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Science Foundation have funded online programs at various colleges and universities in order to study the effectiveness of online education. While these studies are very much in progress, leaders already have high hopes for online education. In a 2012 interview, Stanford University's president John L. Hennessy stated, I'm a believer in online technology in education. I think we have learned enough about this to understand that it will be transformative. It's going to change the world, and it's going to change the way we think about education (Perry 2012, J 7). William G. Bowen, president emeritus of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, stated at a recent conference that there is real potential for online learning to reduce inefficiencies in teaching, scheduling, and lost transfer credits (MIT and Harvard University 2013, p. 7). And with about 5.5 million of all postsecondary students enrolled in at least one for-credit online course in 2012 (Kolowich, 2014), this online thing might be here to stay. The meteoric rise of--and hyper-enthusiasm for--online is perhaps most fueled by the hope that it will bring an end to the in higher education. This crisis is characterized by high student debt totals that now exceed the nation's entire credit card debt, the perceived low return on investment of a college degree (Ripley 2012), a drop in state appropriations to public colleges and universities (Bowen 2012), a decline in median family net worth (resulting in less money to spend on education), and tuition rates that are rising four times faster than the rate of inflation (Smith 2013). And so when viewed from the depths of this crisis, the founders of edX and other such MOOCs (massive open online courses) appear to some as oracle-like beings who can show higher the way to divine salvation: Already, the hyperventilating has outpaced reality; desperate parents are praying that free online universities will finally pop the tuition bubble--and nervous college officials don't want to miss out on a potential gold rush. (Ripley 2012, p. 2) There is a lot of speculation regarding the effect that online will have on the traditional college campus. Some say that online and the benefits it brings will cause most college campuses to crumble in disrepair as they become obsolete within 50 years (Harden 2012). Others argue that online is a fad--perhaps even an ineffective educational model--that will not lead to the alteration of a single brick on the traditional college campus (Lewin 2013f). A recent Gallup poll even showed that most college presidents do not expect that online will result in any substantial financial or educational benefits (Lewin 20i3f). …
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