As graduation approaches for this coming senior class and everyone scrambles to find out what his degree is really worth, I think it’s time we stepped back briefly to take stock of what that nifty little diploma you’re getting framed really means. In a world where the dynamics of social interaction are changing at a rapid pace thanks to online social networks, access to reliable mobile communication tools and the availability of information, what did you really learn from Vanderbilt? And perhaps more importantly, how did you learn it?
I strongly believe that, over the course of the next 20 years, the world of academia is going to experience a shakeup that will change the structure of learning at the post-secondary level, particularly in collegiate settings. With so many varied ways of disseminating and absorbing information that are changing the way we go about our everyday lives, the methods by which we learn must change just to keep up.
One notion that has already begun to materialize here at Vandy is the genesis of user-generated content in coursework. User-generated content (UGC) can be most easily described by looking to the pinnacle of its use: Wikipedia. While the concept is not bound by this site alone, the term means students will have the ability to add relevant information to coursework as the class progresses, essentially tailoring certain aspects of their classes to what they feel is important. I’ve already taken an engineering class where a Wiki page was used as a platform for students to post notes and outside information for exams to complement the coursework; it added an interactive quality to the curriculum that made learning a much more dynamic experience.
One of the problems we encountered was this content was generated by a proportionally small segment of the class, but education will hopefully reach a point where entire classes could be formed based on demand from students and run almost entirely on UGC. A course full of hand-selected students interested in a common theme is sure to generate sufficient information for discussion and learning.
An idea like this will likely require a large pool of interested individuals to begin operating effectively since ideally students would compete to gain admission to the best courses. This reality quickly lends itself to a complimentary notion that I believe will also come to impact college education a bit further down the line: Why can’t I easily take a course from another college? Places like MIT and Stanford are already offering online courses, so why not make it easier to integrate that opportunity into my education?
The largest obstacle to a more seamless integration of coursework from other universities is that it doesn’t gel easily with the current rigid degree structure of the American university, the core business of the institution. Currently this concept would siphon revenue from the university as students obtain credit elsewhere, but perhaps a forward-looking group of prestigious universities could enter into an association where the revenue generated from these types of courses is shared along with the coursework.
Of course, there are pitfalls to be aware of as we charge forward. The Internet, for all its uses, is ruthless in its ability to disregard old models of operation. It disaggregates quickly because of its boundless ability to reach large number of people. What happens to genuine scholarship as Web-based content continues to rise in prevalence both inside and outside the traditional collegiate setting? If there’s no substitute to showing up to a class and interacting with a lecturer, we will have to adapt the online learning experience to serve the student in a manner both functional and sufficiently interactive. Degree programs from purely online sources will continue to surge in popularity, and traditional institutions will be forced to respond. In the next 10 years, the ability to disseminate information in dynamic new ways will arise and dramatically change the traditional educational landscape. I hope academia is insightful enough to meet the challenge head-on.
