|
|
|
|
|
|
by randomdata
5103 days ago
|
|
|
But if you want to build a career out it, and become and actual expert, these sites fall flat on their faces. I don't think anyone believes that eight days spent learning how to build a driverless car will make you an expert in AI, but what if you followed up with similar, and increasingly challenging, courses for several hundred days like a traditional student would? Where then would you stand in relation to those who went to a traditional institution? In other words: Is the problem the delivery mechanism or the lack of content, which should improve with time? |
|
|
But I also think it lacks mechanisms comparable to those found in higher education when it comes to fostering students problem solving and critical thinking skills.
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to teaching is figuring out how to help a student solve a problem without giving them the answer outright. Having been a TA at Stanford for two years now, I can say that I have never helped two students work through the same problem in the exact same way.
I fear that with Udacity, users will often reach points where they are stuck, even after hours of trying, and instead of being taught, they will receive the answer.
I can see it already happening in the forums and wikis there. Students can't solve a problem, and they get a solution posted for them. The value of in person education comes from having someone poke you and prod you just enough so that you figure out the problem, but not so much that you can't honestly say the answer wasn't given to you.
If Udacity can figure out how to do that, then I believe that it would rival any higher education system.