The entire concept of online classes is an anachronism - the way early automobiles resembled horse carriages. This is just schools' futile attempts at staying relevant using some token internet and marketing themselves to people indoctrinated that traditional classes were the only way to learn. Lecture is the worst way to teach, and yet people gush about putting videos of lectures online as some sort of innovation. It's sad that we can't think a little more outside of the box.
An online education service I'd like to see is not teaching but certification. They could recommend learning resources and offer email and voice communication with subject matter experts for feedback and questions as needed, but the main job would be assessing your competence in a specific area and backing it up with a guarantee. You could get a card showing certification in Calculus II (expires one year after issuance) or Early American History, or whatever. But when you pass certification, you actually know the subject - not just sleepwalked through the course doing the minimal busy work. The student may use whatever learning methods that work best for themselves to achieve this and employers looking for specific experts would have confidence in the possession of that expertise.
> An online education service I'd like to see is not teaching but certification.
You appear to be describing essentially the model used by Western Governors University, http://www.wgu.edu (their "certification" is traditional degrees, and doesn't have an expiration date, but the educational model of focusing on demonstrated competence with the institution combining assessment with assistance in the form of recommended learning resources seems to be nearly exactly what you are describing.)
Well that's what their marketing says, and if true, then good for them. I guess I was thinking about something more atomic and a la carte. It'd be cool to have a card that said "Protonfish - certified expert in Game Theory, H. G. Wells, Franciso Tarrega, molecular biology and TCP/IP.
(I am not actually an expert in these areas, but I wanna be.)
The certification model can work for lower level math and some social science or humanities subjects. But how do you certify in subjects like abstract algebra or Byzantine paleography or chemical engineering? A multiple choice test is not going to cut it. The subjects either take place at too high a degree of abstraction or require access to materials to do properly, or both. What you describe could work for a community college level education but not for a real university education.
These things are not impossible to certify but I agree an online multiple choice test is not sufficient. Advanced subjects would have to be assessed by another expert using whatever methods work: live Q&A, a major project, working the in field. I can't really say as each area could have vastly different ways to best measure competency.
A modern automobile is less similar to a horse carriage than an early automobile. On the other hand, it's more similar to a horse carriage than, say, a washing machine. Compared to a horse carriage, a modern automobile is faster, lower to the ground, typically enclosed, and more aerodynamic. On the other hand, it still has 4 wheels and a set of seats.
Similarly, I think the current iteration of 'online classes' is more similar to what online education will look like in 10, 20, or 50 years.
You assert that a lecture is the worst way to teach. What is a book or essay, but a lecture in written form? For some students, or some subjects, written text with diagrams might be superior. For others, a live voice, with gestures and diagrams might be superior. It's worth pointing out that, when a lecture is recorded, it can be sped up, slowed down, rewound, and so on. If a transcript is available, it can be skimmed for recall.
But, you might argue, lectures, essays, and any such static methods are still 'the worst'. Give me Socratic dialogues, interactive diagrams, hands-on labs and experiments! A - I'd assert that for some subjects (or portions of subjects), a lecture is actually better. B - This can and has been done in online classes, just as in real classes. In some ways, even attempting to use these 'new and modern' methods could be seen as an anachronism, to the extent they look similar to existing methods used in live classrooms.
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As for certification, it's worth noting that some online course sites are positioning themselves as learning + certification sites. Also, isn't the blanket idea of 'certification' something of an anachronism? ;). Many on HN would argue that when hiring, a cert or degree is only a very rough filter, and interviews / work samples are superior for assessing competency in a subject.
Think about the current state of offline certification - we have things like University Degrees, CISSP, and the Bar.
University Degrees are a broad indicator of a person not being stupid, and perhaps having studied some particular topic at one point in their lives. On the other hand, most jobs treat them as necessary but not sufficient, and other jobs treat them as optional. Once a candidate is in front of an interviewer, a Degree probably won't sway the hiring decision much.
Then there's more specific certifications, like the CISSP. Like you were suggesting, the CISSP can be obtained without necessarily taking any other classes, as long as one has acquired the necessary knowledge and experience. Those hiring treat this certification anywhere from absolutely necessary, to nice but optional, to an indication that a candidate is undesirable.
And then there's certifications like the Bar. While not technically requiring taking any class, it would be fairly difficult to pass without one. It's an absolute necessity to have, to work in that field.
University Degrees range from mildly to very expensive (but at least some multiple thousands of dollars), and are a weak indicator. The CISSP exam is ~$500, not counting study materials, and is an 'ok' indicator. Merely taking the Bar will run multiple thousands of dollars, not counting the necessary classes, and is a strong indicator.
Where do you see your envisioned online certification service? Do you think you can crack the problem of actually useful certification, without charging students multiple hundreds of dollars per cert?
An online education service I'd like to see is not teaching but certification. They could recommend learning resources and offer email and voice communication with subject matter experts for feedback and questions as needed, but the main job would be assessing your competence in a specific area and backing it up with a guarantee. You could get a card showing certification in Calculus II (expires one year after issuance) or Early American History, or whatever. But when you pass certification, you actually know the subject - not just sleepwalked through the course doing the minimal busy work. The student may use whatever learning methods that work best for themselves to achieve this and employers looking for specific experts would have confidence in the possession of that expertise.