New learning enviroment (II)

Last november a MIT magazine, Technology Review, published an article which made some comments about my effort to get students enroll in MOOC courses. I must admit I have not been able to get high officials to share my views. However, to enroll in a MOOC course does not involve high officials. So I have been able to get directly to students and persuade them to get enrolled. This is ok for a small scale. But to scale up it will need the support of high rank officials. Also, students, professors, deans, university presidents must be on the same boat. If they never give  value to MOOC courses, We will miss a wonderful opportunity to improve higher education.

A very sad experience.

In one of his lecture professor Paul Kim recalled a very sad story: "Once I was in one of the least developed regions around the world. I faced a community leader who told me not to do anything that would improve the schools in the region. He said most parents do not want their children to be educated. In fact, I found out that many parents I met did not want their children to be wasting time in schools that gave no value. Students were taught by teachers who barely finished high school and had no materials. Teachers showed up only once in a while, yet collected paychecks every month from the government. Also, for parents, children wasting time in such school meant they are losing the necessary labor force needed in the farms. I left the community and have not gone back."

School for the blind kicks out a mime

For a passionate educator, I think, Paul Kim's experience was very disappointed. However, he is hard to defeat: "I am still struggling to figure out a way to get their children educated with quality learning programs. I would like to challenge those children. I would like to show them what they could achieve in their lives. I would like to see doctors, professors, engineers and astronauts out of them." 

To get that change society must change the value it gives to education.