Interneducation: It's Not Going Anywhere

There are two choices in life: climb the mountain or lie in the valley. By that, I mean one can either evolve to overcome his obstacles or stagnate into mediocrity. For the human race in general, we have taken the former route, constantly finding new ways to progress through technological advancement. Within the last twenty years or so, technology has become the bedrock of our society, an unavoidable entity with its arms outstretched into every facet of our daily lives, like education for example. Public school systems and collegiate institutions are now experimenting with the Internet as a new mode for education, utilizing interactive educational websites and even going as far to incorporate social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter into their lesson plans. While there are many proponents of "Interneducation" as I call it, there a large amount of opponents as well. Critics of this movement claim that it depersonalizes the learning experience, citing the atmosphere of a classroom environment as almost as vital as the actual information being taught. Is there a clear answer to this issue? I don't believe so, but I do believe that while there are pros and cons to Interneducation, it is smarter to ride its wave rather than stubbornly crash into it.

Without a doubt, there are benefits to introducing the Internet into our modern education system. Websites with interactive games and activities help explain concepts more easily to visual learners. Video-sharing websites like Youtube and Vimeo can be utilized to show films and documentaries that are relevant to the subjects at hand. Many colleges, including my own, post lectures online for their students for extra review. Even websites like Facebook or Twitter, websites that were initially designed exclusively for social interaction, have been used in recent years to help extend discussions beyond the classroom.

Besides the educational benefits, online education is convenient and less expensive. Students can take classes online in the privacy of their own homes, making commuting obsolete and allowing students to not have to pay the additional costs of attending a university like housing, meal plans, etc. Again, one cannot deny that there are perks to using something so ingrained into our daily lives to our own advantage. However, to say that there aren’t any drawbacks would be naïve.

A major criticism of Interneducation is the depersonalization of education. By giving students the freedom of learning from their own home rather than attending class in person, it eliminates face-to-face interaction almost entirely. A major component of the education system, aside from the scholastic portion, is the social aspect. Students learn life skills by having to converse with their peers daily, but if they choose to learn in a virtual setting, it is arguable that they will not develop as well socially. Besides peer interaction, creating a virtual environment for learning means that there is less of a connection between the student and the teacher. Students lose the ability to ask questions because of the virtual barrier between them and their professors.

The Internet does completely revamp the concept of education, which for thousands of years has operated on the basis of the physical, face-to-face setting. But now that we have this arguably more convenient way of conveying information to students, is it something that we should embrace or reject?

I say both, to certain degrees.

At this stage in human history, trying to stop the Internet from influencing education is completely futile. We are living in an age in which technology has wedged itself into the foundation of our daily lives, having at least a small say in everything that we do. We take the Subway to get to work. We use cell phones to connect with people over long distances. Our food is engineered to taste certain ways. All of our finances are documented and held online. Unless you’re in some weird cult or you’re Amish (the “or” may not be necessary), your daily life is affected to some extent by technology. That is why I believe that we should embrace Interneducation because as our world progresses technologically, societal concepts (education, government, banking, etc.) naturally must change with those tides.

However, that’s not to say we should become entirely reliant on it. I personally thrive in a physical classroom setting, as do billions of other people. I don’t think that idea should ever become obsolete. Using the Internet occasionally as a tool, not a substitute, can prove to be helpful. In my high school, teachers frequently used Youtube to show us videos related to the material that we were covering. Many of the science classes that I took also made me participate in several online activities that helped me visually understand certain ideas better than a lecture could ever help. So I do value online education, but I do not hold it above the standard method.

An analogy that I can draw between this is with electronic music. In recent years, electronic music has gained a more substantial fan base than at any point in its history. Though encompassing a wide variety of subgenres, electronic music is generally characterized by digital instruments such as synthesizers, beats, and textures, as opposed to physical instruments like the acoustic guitar and the piano. For example:

The appeal in the music created by mainstream electronic artists nowadays like Skrillex, Deadmau5, and Porter Robinson lies in its danceable quality. Many enjoy popular electronic music because it provides energetic, fast-paced music that focuses less on evoking thought and more on inducing adrenaline. While many appreciate electronic music for what it is, critics tend to describe it as loud, thoughtless, and emotionless. 

Personally, my favorite music incorporates elements of electronic music but doesn’t rely on it entirely. Artists like Passion Pit, Radiohead, and The xx provide a balance between physical instrumentation and electronic music, and it is that very balance that I appreciate most of all. For example:

But there are no right answers with music. There are only opinions.

Coming full circle, Interneducation is something that can be completely appreciated by certain students, while to others it can be completely despised. For people like me, online education can be beneficial in doses. The point is that education is entirely subjective in the way that we feel we best attain it. If people feel that they learn best in an online setting, they should take online classes. If people prefer the physical classroom setting, they should enroll at a university. But what people should keep in mind is that they live in the Information Age, a time when knowledge is as accessible to the mind as air is to the lungs. The Internet isn’t going anywhere; if we can’t accept that, we won’t be going anywhere either.