tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post3958150612143311349..comments2024-03-27T16:02:25.334-05:00Comments on Orange Crate Art: The gold standard, haircuts, and everyone elseMichael Leddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-66966691347546180122014-11-19T11:09:06.072-06:002014-11-19T11:09:06.072-06:00On the other hand, if they can keep the original m...On the other hand, if they can keep the original method, but record it, and make that available to those of us interested, but not out for a degree, it might serve as financial support. <br /><br />We could all audit courses, for a small fee, while the young students can get the one to one/essay/discussion. <br /><br />I agree, though, that it should not replace actual classes. Zhoenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515663141425057088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-36065004267196695312014-11-12T13:54:13.621-06:002014-11-12T13:54:13.621-06:00“A decent society will on occasion resist the effi...“A decent society will on occasion resist the efficient course of action, for the simple reason that to follow it would be to act as though we were not the people we have determined ourselves to be: a people conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that we all are created equal” — Glenn C. Loury, Race, Incarceration and American Valueswiddicombenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-45141214219612781702014-11-12T12:11:59.547-06:002014-11-12T12:11:59.547-06:00Any number of students have told me similar storie...Any number of students have told me similar stories about online courses.<br /><br />The productivity argument is so misleading, and so appropriate in a culture in which everything is seen as quantifiable.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-84363702234140855042014-11-12T11:29:54.462-06:002014-11-12T11:29:54.462-06:00I just completed a MOOC offered by a professor of ...I just completed a MOOC offered by a professor of child development at the University of Minnesota. Since I mostly wanted access to her lecture content, it worked pretty well for me, but I know I would have enjoyed it more and been more immersed in it within a classroom setting. The use of discussion forum helped a little (and the students were located around the world) but it couldn't compare with talking together in a discussion group.<br /><br />The assessments used were fairly worthless. Multiple choice, to cover a complex topic that cried out for writing and synthesis.<br /><br />On a separate point: Today's Star Tribune included a letter from the former acting president of the University of Minnesota, reacting to recent op-eds about tuition increases and how the university does its work. He wrote, "Why shouldn’t we expect the same productivity gains in our colleges and universities as we expect from most every other sector of our economy?"<br /><br />As with your point about barber shops, I have a hard time imagining how a university can make productivity gains without sacrificing the essential nature of the enterprise.Daughter Number Threehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08171356533232458827noreply@blogger.com