The young McMaster psychologist with 3,500 students in his first-year course has used the web to breathe life into heavy introductory lectures. He replaced two of his three weekly classes on the basics with breezy, interactive online lessons, then holds the third “live lecture” to tackle a problem together.
“Joe Kim is brilliant,” Murray said. “He realized the way we were teaching the bulk of the content — the ‘sage on the stage’ — didn’t have anything to do with how students really learn, which is through discussion, engagement and participation.”


http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/educ...d-universities

Some university courses work "better" online, therefore we need an online university?

I wish he also realized that some people prefer readable lectures instead of his droning voice.

A "boutique approach to higher learning"? I've read Glen Murray's "discussion paper", and it seems to me that the changes will only lead to more institutional bureaucracy for students to have to navigate through. There are some good ideas in there, though.

I REALLY don't see "freeing up face-to-face time" to be used for "creative class discussion"... In terms of how the military industrial model of learning has been going, I just see this as an excuse to cut classroom costs by whisking students away to the online world. I'm all for turning traditional learning styles on their heads, but I really can't this all heading in a wholly positive direction, what with the profit model most universities still obsessively run under.

Murray seems like a really modern dude though, and universities can really benefit from taking the (apparent) successes like Kim's intro psych course. I don't really agree that courses should at all be taught like psych 1x03, but that's another topic entirely.

I can see lectures getting a makeover, since whether they are online or not they still present the same thing (and most people are on their computers anyways) but as long as they leave tutorials and labs the way they are now than I see little downside to it

I hate joe kim.. so much.

Online lectures = crap!

Originally Posted by L'Étoile

...

Online lectures = crap!

The idea is that school should be an immersive environment to discuss the details about what is learened, but all ideas like this are doing is shfiting the burden on students studying up and being ready and competent in the material beforehand (before lectures)....... which is the reason why people get the marks they do.

Its pretty much: "Okay guys, you can have your lectures whenever you want (online), be sure to do them!" Which is exactly what we have now (textbooks, posted notes, vast access to online lectures from other schools), only students don't want to learn anyways.

Originally Posted by L'Étoile

I hate joe kim.. so much.

Online lectures = crap!

My favourite part of the article is where it says how he makes it easy to "breeze" through lectures. Those lectures were the most dense, time consuming things ever, and a prof would not dared have gone through that much material per lecture if they could physically SEE the students falling asleep. Each lecture took about two hours to get through...way longer than would have been possible in a classroom. Even my TA thought it was ridiculous. Online courses just lead to profs who are really out of touch with the students.

Something similar was on 60 minutes not long ago. The kids learn the material at home (via videos) and come to class and do drills. There's even a little notification for the teacher when a student to having trouble on the questions (God forbid we expect a teacher to recognize that!).

I don't see how that benefits anyone (except by slashing the budget). The students who are doing poorly either do not watch the videos and slack (some problems are due to lack of initiative/responsibility, and not a lack of understanding), or they have questions that cannot be answered until the next day (by which time they are likely forgotten, have given up, etc). The students who are doing well (like me in 1st year psych) are pissed they have to sit through another tedious video that takes 2-3x longer than a standard lecture would (having to pause and write down everything because you are expected to know it better, etc).

I'm all for responsibility and having kids take initiative, but this is silly.

I agree. If this model of learning keeps progressing we will be learning entirely at our computers. At that point, there will be nothing that I can't find on google than any other 'academic' resource.

gained a little weight there hasn't he? has the face of a sumo wrestler LOL.