The Myth and Reality* of Online Education
It’s been almost two years that students all over the world have been experiencing online learning due to the pandemic, and I’ve been teaching (and learning) online for almost as long as the pandemic last; *thus I write this as a personal reflection as a learner as well as a teacher.
When we talk about education, I believe most of us consider that word as something noble, hopeful, and almost magical. Education can change your life. Education can change the world. Education always brings good things. That is something that we always mention when we strive for betterment; a better career, better life.
But what is education exactly? It is tightly tied to other words such as learning, teaching, and knowledge. Merriam-Webster describes education as the action or process of teaching someone, especially in a school, college, or university. Meanwhile, Brittanice considers education as a discipline that is concerned with methods of teaching and learning in schools or school-like environments as opposed to various nonformal and informal means of socialization. It is interesting that institution (re: school) is highly emphasized in each definition. But does education is something that is exclusively acquired from school?
Introducing DIKW Pyramid:
I read somewhere, and unfortunately, I forgot where I read this idea: You can differentiate someone who is well-informed and well educated. The DIKW pyramid helped me to understand how to process the data that we know. I am not sure if I always reached wisdom through data and information that I acquired throughout my life.
I’ve always assumed, if you live long enough then wisdom will magically (or gradually) come to you. But I see a lot of people in their old age, still filled with fear, still awful human beings. It’s kinda worrying because apparently, more time living and more experience doesn’t automatically make you a wiser and certainly not a kinder person. Experience, without reflection, is just become information. Or worse, it’s just repetition. There’s no growth. There’s no development. I wrote in several posts earlier about what is education for, and I’ve come to the conclusion that education is agreeable that it is to live better, not only for yourself but also collectively, together.
The awesomeness of Online Learning and Internet
I think the majority of us have no problem getting an internet connection. We have countless youtube videos. DIY, crash course, philosophical reflection. I am truly grateful that I am privileged enough to be able to access information on my fingertips, understand a language that produced the most content, and have time to spare.
In this age, you don’t need to worry about not getting enough information. There’s plenty. In fact, that’s the challenge. How to determine what’s essential. How do we use energy to digest them?
I feel like that many of us has this hope, or premise, that online education will be the “saviour” of education. Just like any offered solution, in some aspects, it helps, in other aspects, it worsen the current situation. I personally feel that the place where I work is an interesting sphere to learn, not only language but to introduce many concepts that I believe would be good for learners; diversity and tolerance, widen the horizon. In one class, I have students from Sumatra, Sulawesi, Bali, Kupang, and sometimes we had giggles about different food names, different cultures, and clarified certain assumptions we have about people from different places.
As a learner, MOOCs (massive open online course) is something else. We can learn almost EVERYTHING; from credible sources. We have something formal like Khan Academy, Coursera, FutureLearn and I’ve been taking courses from those websites. In fact, this post is some sort of post-course reflection. I have always been an inquisitive person about many things, I benefit from the massive advantage of online learning. KAIL classes have been life-changing. Finding Hank Green, and its community makes me feel alright to be a curious person. Being a part of mental-health support from K-Pop group fans keep me hopeful. I got used to the fact that the internet is a depressing place and a place that makes me feel alienated. So the idea that we’ve created a community that is supportive… makes me feel more connected than less connected.
Silent Ableism, and of course, “Third World Problem”
As an English-speaking person, I feel like I CAN get almost any essential information from this little flat box I am using to write this. I have the ability to comprehend English. As far as I know, I have no physical or mental disability to absorb new information. I have a relatively stable internet connection. I have a comfortable place to learn.
But how about those who don’t have one or more aspects that I have?
I do not believe that online education has been education’s saviour, especially in the third world where access to the internet and technology is necessary to even access class. It does offer choices but those choices are predicated on the willingness of the facilitator and their own levels of access. The asynchronous learning style is a true disruptor (as offered on futurelearn) and can be truly positive granted the learner has access to the platforms. Innovation can benefit those with the money and resources and disadvantage poorer students from more rural areas.
Conclusion
After reading the article and reflecting, and as a fervent advocate of active and innovative teaching, I would not say that online education has been “education’s saviour”, but rather that it has helped my students to grow and learn in different ways — and, for some, to blossom and take a renewed interest in the subject as presented in a non-traditional way that is in keeping with their mindset. However, the onset of the pandemic has caused online education and resources to explode, and herein lies the difficulty. It is not a question of always teaching online or with online resources, versus traditional approaches to teaching and learning. We can take advantage, but we should emphasize more and more for equal access.
I am also passionate about SEL (Social Emotional Learning), this new area brought to light during the pandemic, has indeed revolutionised my teaching in the sense that I have a clearer view of student desires and student feedback, and a closer relationship with my pupils, as we navigate the ups and downs of trying blended learning whilst keeping certain aspects of traditional approaches to teaching English Language and Literature in an international section.
As we see on DIKW triangle above, we would benefit so much once we realize that “knowing and memorizing data”. We need to reflect, infer, doubt, and hopefully we can be a tiny bit wiser with information that we have. More and more people realize that education was less about standardized testing and more about imagination, critical thinking, awakening wonder — shaping kids into people who can think for themselves, recognize lies, resist injustice, and read for the sheer joy of reading. Education is not only worth pursuing if it leads to a job. We all deserve comfortably, livable wages but learning should be a wonderful thing whether it brings you a paycheck or not. Art and beauty and literature are worth exploring whether they yield a profit or not. And online teaching and learning* offer this with certain remarks.
