Getting a DEAC-Accredited Doctorate

While I think tenure has done a great deal of good to attract and retain many academic giants, especially those who would took a pay cut going into academia when they could have made bundles in private sector, I think there is an unfortunate number of professors who took it as early semi-retirement and thus stopped trying the moment they knew they could only get fired for the most egregious of misconduct and, even then, only after a lengthy process.

Imagine if any of us, in any industry knew we had an office and a paycheck for life. I'll be honest, I might not attend another conference if you took the "these connections may be necessary during a future job hunt" element. So is it so surprising that many of these professors don't keep their tools of the trade sharpened?

 

I'm right. But I cannot argue: so is she!

 

I agree. This so-called stance on educational value is a farce. I attended a large research 1 university and the professors were mostly concerned with research and publications. Most coursework was presented in the same manner that we see online and students were required to master the materials somehow, someway! LOL. Some courses did hold discussions, but I don't recall the interactions being SO profound that one would never dream of moving class to an online environment. As with most things, you get out what you put in. Now, there is value to the college campus. I really enjoyed my experience, but actually being in class and being taught by a professor was such a small part of it. My favorite professor readily admitted that she hates teaching online and as the chair of her department the consensus is that the COVID-19 model is temporary. She does not even want to offer an associate's degree online, it is too different from what they are used to and it's way to much work. It would be nice if the academic community would be more honest about lacking the tools and skills needed to produce an effective online course. As you stated, online learning is dismissed altogether as subpar because the gatekeepers are behind the times.

 

When online education is done well, this is what it looks like:

• The knowledge base is easy to acquire through automated, standardized processes--we used to call this a "textbook," but now there are so many additional multi-media options
• The instructor is no longer the conduit for learning--the "sage on the stage"
• The instructor is now the facilitator of your learning--the "guide on the side"
• The instructor focuses on specialized areas, helps students get over learning blocks, assesses learning, etc.
• Learning is based on accomplishing learning objectives, not doing time in a classroom accompanied by a mid-term, a final, and a paper

Instruction is better because (a) the learner controls much more of the pace and methods used to learn and (b) instructors get to focus on the most difficult and important parts of the process.

Are there lousy classroom experiences? Sure, they're legion. Are there crummy online courses? Sure. Can everything I listed above also be done in a classroom environment? Sure, but what you spend all that class time doing?

This is why the online learning experience can be superior.

 

I believe both online and offline offer some benefits depending on your situation.
For me, the only way that I could learn from foreign countries is through online means.
I really cannot go abroad for now for some reason. Online learning enabled me to learn from foreign, at the same time working a full-time job here and do another thing.
The downside of classroom learning is you are wasting too much time waiting for the lecturer to come, the transportation time and fee, meal fee, and other unnecessary things. Online learning also enabling me to do two degrees at the same time, because you eliminate all unnecessary distractions. You really can condense your time in the most effective way to learn and revise the material and it left you with very much spare time to learn other things.

For someone who really wanted to rush on the learning (like me), online learning can be very superior, especially the competence-based.