Most of us are studying at the Rotterdam School of Management(RSM), Erasmus university for diverse reasons. However, we can all say that we chose to study at the RSM because we want to receive a valuable certificate. For this reason, we are investing our time and loads of money in our education.
The internet has made people’s lives extremely easy. Everything has become accessible for us. This accessibility has truly improved our lives. On the other hand, it has caused for great destructions in many industries.
The Western world has groomed many great scientists, researchers, philosophers and so on. The Western world has always been extremely proud of the development of their education system. Additionally, technology has severely improved the education systems and is causing in destruction in diverse ways.
Google Academy, Google Learning, LinkedIn Learning, you might have noticed the advertisements online on diverse social media platforms. Many social platforms have launched their own online education programs where they, after successfully completing a course, offer a certificate. Google claims that their certificate may be of benefit and valid for job application. But are these certificates truly helpful? Are these certificates worth just as much as the college/university diplomas? Are the online certificates a threat for education institutions?
What are google and other platform trying to gain from this?
Google has linked this service to their products. Moreover, Google provides additional services for primary and secondary schools which makes this very prudent act. This will not only increase switching costs but also give people a true google experience.
Building credibility does not happen overnight. Many education institutions had been working on their institutions and have developed strong academic curriculum. I believe that the certificate will never be able to surpass the quality of the strong education institutions. The certificates provided by Google, LinkedIn and other media platforms can be a supplementary certificate but not as valuable as most university certificate.
Sources:
http://www.rtlz.nl/business/carriere/linkedin-gestart-met-aanbieden-online-cursussen
https://www.google.com/edu/resources/programs/
Hi Stella,
Thank you for your post. I also think that it won’t be that online teaching will replace traditional schools, mostly because they are not mutually exclusive things. I would more see it as a supplementary solution. School gives you a teacher that can help you to go through problems you encounter, gives you lunch breaks with best friends or extracurricular activities. In contrast, online courses enable student to increase knowledge in more specific, niche topics. Since online courses are an example of information goods, the replication costs are close to zero. This gives every people, no matter where do they live, an opportunity to listen to best teachers in the world. In my opinion the future will be a mix of both traditional schools, which will give students social components of studying, and the Internet, which will give the access to countless learning materials.