The world is changing rapidly. Social networking, stem research, globalization and other advancements are revolutionizing education everywhere. Of course this has a profound effect on education as it struggles to keep pace with the world around it. Online universities and courses are becoming more and more popular. Textbooks can now be downloaded to tablets and E-readers, thus saving students money, but also rapidly integrating technology.
How about reading your math text book on your tablet and then watching a video that shows you how to solve what you just learned? Or how about studying a piece of music and then listening to it? Try online collaboration with students on the other side of the world?
Just learning mere facts are a thing of the past. Today’s education is about taking information, analyzing it correctly and applying it to life. It is far less about individual success and much more focused on team play and cooperation with others. Universities that fail to implement these ideas will find themselves left in the educational dust. There are ways they can improve. Here are some.
For many, school will be one of the last times they will be evaluated on individual or academic performance. With the interconnectedness that the internet and globalization brings, today’s jobs require more and more team efforts. A company in California may hire programmers in Japan or Russia, who order parts from offices in Indonesia. Many jobs are now requiring multiple interviews with various departments, even outside specific fields of expertise. They are not looking for smarts and know-how, they are looking to see how well candidates work and communicate with others. Sadly, most colleges, especially in the field of liberal arts, have yet to implement this chance.
Education is becoming more and more about how to use and process information and data and far less about preserving or imparting it. The internet makes access to information of all kinds almost instant. In the past you may have had to memorize or read a play or poem, now you can look it up in the Library of Congress with just a couple of clicks. With mobile devices having internet access, it gets even easier. What this means is that students need to be able to take information, analyze it and apply it to the world around them.
The world is more open now as well. What happens in China can have profound impact in our own lives today. It only makes sense to study more cultures and their histories, the way they think, their histories and economics just to name a few areas. Social sciences will gain importance as they draw on real world examples. Additionally, it is more imperative for students to study for a semester or two overseas so they learn to interact with other cultures.
While, in some ways universities are slow to change, in many ways they are the first to do so. Often considered the forefront of new thoughts and ideas, it will be interesting to see just how these changes come about.
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