Jammed: Full into Capacity

BOSTON (Reuters) – Yale University said on Wednesday it will offer digital videos of some courses on the Internet for free, along with transcripts in several languages, in an effort to make the elite private school more accessible.

While Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others already offer course material online without charge, Yale is the first to focus on free video lectures, the New Haven, Connecticut-based school said.

The 18-month pilot project will provide videos, syllabi and transcripts for seven courses beginning in the 2007 academic year. They include “Introduction to the Old Testament,” “Fundamentals of Physics” and “Introduction to Political Philosophy.”

The courses cannot be counted toward a Yale degree, and educators say they are no substitute for actual teaching.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to share a vital and central part of the Yale experience with those who, for whatever reason, are not in a position to pursue a Yale education at first hand,” Yale President Richard Levin said in a written statement.

The project is funded by a $755,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Source: Yahoo! News, September 20, 2006

This is good news to all students taking up these courses. Some educators still recommend classroom-teaching, which is the traditional approach, but they do not totally disregard the idea of online learning. This medium serves as an augmentation to the traditional approach. Almost everyone has an access to the internet now making these online learning programs successful in imparting education to all.

A case study made on online learning stated that using technology to supplement the traditional approach to teaching can help improve the situation. This is because the student can control the pace and timing of the delivery; email and conferencing enable a rich and ongoing conversation between a group of students and a lecturer that allows the conception to be thoroughly explored, unconstrained by timetabling restrictions. It allow students to explore new ideas. Using this blend of technologies can enrich the interactions between students and lecturers by freeing them from the constraints of formal sessions.

Both approaches, traditional and online learning, can act synergistically to potentiate learning. I have not actually tried online learning because I have not found any online materials related to my course, but I subscribe to newsletter and health news as my alternative.

Education, Internet Education, Internet