The Chronicle has an interesting article (“Will Technology kill the Academic Calendar?”) on how online education is changing the way some programs and colleges offer classes. Since one of the benefits of online education is that it can allow students to work at times that better suit their schedules, some schools have started allowing students to enroll in a class any day they wish (open-entry courses), and then work through the class at their own pace. In fact, the Chronicle describes a student who completed a humanities course by turning in 6 writing assignments and taking 113 quizzes in a 46 hour period. Only 46 hours to complete the class. This type of open-entry course obviously eliminates any interaction between students and makes you question the amount of professor-student interaction. What are the positives to this approach? The only one that I saw in the article was that the adjunct they interviewed who was teaching these type of courses is earning $120,000 a year.
RSM
Ancient History Ramblings 