The Future of University Education

The emergence of the Internet is argued by Richard Miller to be the “greatest change in human communication in human history… its communicative powers surpass all the preceding technologies for enabling and enhancing human understanding combined” (2009, 143). Of course, this has created the opportunity for education to be provided in ways like never before. But how should existing universities react to these possibilities?

I think the answer is simple – ’embrace it’! It doesn’t seem like there is another option anyway.

Education should be seen as a right, not a privilege – and definitely not something that can only be achieved by those with the money or the opportunity to attend university in person. The internet means that people can access education anywhere across the globe and this is a good thing.

However, in order to actually make formal education available over the internet it is necessary for universities to make changes to how subjects are taught and assessed. This subject, BCM310, provides good examples of the different ways in which the internet can be used. Lectures are recorded and placed online, tutorials may involve communicating with other students via a forum, and assignments can be conducted and submitted online – for example, this very blog!

An interesting aspect of online education is the creation of ‘MOOC’s (massive open online courses) which provide classes on a variety of topics for free. Students enrol in the class and will usually be required to watch short video lectures then complete assignments which will be graded by their peers (The Chronicle of Higher Education 2013). These courses are becoming increasingly popular and are something which universities will have to address. Why would someone pay to attend uni if they can learn online for free? Some universities, such as Stanford and Harvard, are already beginning to embrace MOOCs and I think this will provide for a very interesting learning environment in the future.

 

Miller, R (2009) ‘The Coming Apocalypse’ Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition and Culture, Vol 2, No 1, p143-150

‘Welcome to the Brave New World of MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses)’ (2013) The New York Times, viewed 18 April 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQNvmQH_YM>

‘What you need to know about MOOCs’ (2013) The Chronicle of Higher Education, viewed 18 April 2013, <http://chronicle.com/article/What-You-Need-to-Know-About/133475/>

Does professional journalism have a place in the future?

 

It is difficult to discuss the future of journalism with any real certainty because the situation is still unfolding. The increase in participatory journalism has meant that the structure of journalism is already beginning to shift. There seems to be more dialogue between the professionals and the public at large, rather than a one way approach where the professional journalists sit separate from society and communicate to them what is important.

 

The development of the internet has meant that now everybody has the capacity to put out a story and ‘publish’ their opinions. This leads to questions about the role of professional journalists. As Quandt (2011, 172) argues the emergence of participatory journalism has been met with unease by some professionals who can see it as both a threat to their individual jobs and the integrity of the profession at large. “Doing journalism requires following some rules, applying rigor. You have to fact-check and try to keep a more or less neutral standpoint” (El Pais in Quandt 2011, 172). User generated content does not necessarily follow these rules.

 

While I do feel that user generated content will continue to change the way journalism operates, I believe that there will always be an important role for the professionals. Apart from anything else, this comes down to logistics. People do not have time to trawl through hundreds of blogs and social media sites to find out what is happening in the world. As Jarvis argues : “there is a flight to quality when it comes to the online experience” (Fitzsimmons 2008). The public needs the official media (which they can be fairly confident is telling the truth) to provide the important news stories. If individuals find a story particularly interesting or relevant, they can then search for more opinions and information in user generated content.

 

Fitzsimmons, C (2008) ‘@Future of Journalism: Jeff Jarvis on 10 questions we should be asking now’ The Guardian UK, 24 June, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/jun/24/futureofjournalismjeffjarv , accessed 11 April 2013.

 

Quandt, T (2011) ‘Understanding a new phenomenon: the significance of participatory journalism’ Chapter 9 in Herminda et al Participatory Journalism, Wiley Blackwell pp155-176.