Doering’s Course – Designing Online Learning – Week 1 Blog
1. Why do you want to become an online teacher?
Leaving Latin America was a difficult decision for my family. After all, we felt that our opportunities would be greater in the USA but by moving, we would not be able to contribute to the development and improvement of the country where we were born. I am glad we came to America, and when I am able to I intend to become a U.S citizen as my parents recently decided. Yet, the Internet allows us to contribute to anywhere from anywhere. The Internet and online education can help reduce some of the problems caused by transnational migration including mitigating the effects of the brain drain. For years, it has been my goal not only to help from a distance and promote the growth of open education, but also to encourage other immigrant to give back, if not in the form of financial remittances through knowledge remittances. Online education may help improve the economies of developing states, and of impoverished regions throughout the United States, as well as the rest of the world. I fully believe that while we are all different, that we should have the opportunity to develop our talents. Online education can reduce some of the traditional problems faced by increasing access to education.
2. What are your concerns about being an online teacher?
That other voices will be less heard, both from individuals as well as cultures. While open educational programs such as MOOCs greatly increase access, they are also currently developed primarily in countries with higher economic standards and innovative traditions. I fully support the exchange of ideas from north to south and center to periphery, but I would like to see a greater transfer of knowledge and information from south to north and periphery to center. This is particularly important when we take into account that 25 native tongues are lost every year (out of 6,000+ languages). When visiting developing regions such as during my recent trip to the Dominican Republic, it was evident that an underfunded and understaffed educational system has resulted in individuals lacking awareness of their national history, and the increased globalization of their identity (accompanied by the erosion of their traditional / local identity). The transfer of ideas has been a positive force in human history, but I am concerned about the potential impact that the increased massification of education may have towards local cultures and their historical knowledge.
3. What impact do you believe online learning will have on education in the future?
Online education will continue to grow and will also increase competition as more courses will be offered to a wider population. As more courses are offered and the cost of schooling per student decreases, there may be an overall increase in college degree graduates, yet many of them may be unable to find a job comparable (in financial remuneration) to those that were available before them. Online technologies will help increase access, but this will likely result in a potentially smaller financial gain for graduates in comparison to the financial gains which were obtained from previous generations that went to college. Competition is increasingly global and online education strengthens this trend. Overall, the increased in the number of students who obtain advanced degrees will result in a stronger national and global economy, a smarter citizenship, an improved standard of living, and an even faster rate of technological advancement, yet some of the statistics used to justify high tuition rates (such as an over $1 million gain in lifetime earnings by those who graduate from a higher education institution) may not necessarily play out as it did before. Some current prognostics are based on the gains of previous generations. Basing future statistics on what was true before can lead to economic miscalculations. While I am all for increasing access, it may not necessarily result in higher average incomes for graduates, although with a greater number of graduates, society as a whole should improve.
