As I read this chapter about education in social progress, I found myself questioning quite a few aspects. When comparing education practices across the world, there has to be some sort of universal benchmark that we can use. Giving students access to technology to “close the digital divide” is a good thin, and computers can be used to gain access to programs that grant qualifications, etc. However, it also completely opens up communication. Therefore it can be hard to compare relative qualifications, especially when a language barrier exists. Students can gain skills, but applying them becomes very difficult. The more information and tools that are shared publicly, the more difficult it becomes to award individuals merit for their own work. Education is treated as a commodity in most of the world, so it is something that you have to pay for, but this creates a fairly major problem when it comes to intellectual property. How do you maintain confidentiality and fair grading assessments within institutions when the students, faculty, local community and now the global community are so deeply interconnected?
As I read this chapter about education in social progress, I found myself questioning quite a few aspects. When comparing education practices across the world, there has to be some sort of universal benchmark that we can use. Giving students access to technology to “close the digital divide” is a good thin, and computers can be used to gain access to programs that grant qualifications, etc. However, it also completely opens up communication. Therefore it can be hard to compare relative qualifications, especially when a language barrier exists. Students can gain skills, but applying them becomes very difficult. The more information and tools that are shared publicly, the more difficult it becomes to award individuals merit for their own work. Education is treated as a commodity in most of the world, so it is something that you have to pay for, but this creates a fairly major problem when it comes to intellectual property. How do you maintain confidentiality and fair grading assessments within institutions when the students, faculty, local community and now the global community are so deeply interconnected?