Nowadays we're moving more and more into the cyber world and everything is becoming more and more involved with the virtual: even education. More and more schools are digitalizing their courses (which seems absurd to me because it almost defeats the purpose of education) and also their libraries. Can you imagine a school without real books in the libraries or libraries at all for that matter where you can do some research and stuff? I sure can't! Some schools are even changing their libraries into learning centers with computers where you can do your research.
I know, I know: it saves money and it is less time-consuming then having to go through a million books to find one or two that you really need. I get it; call me old-fashioned but I would rather do that than spend hours and days looking through an electronic library. Don't get me wrong, I spend a lot of my time on the computer every day, but I can’t really study with a computer; I get distracted, whereas at the library there's not a lot of ways to get sidetracked: you are actually there for the sole purpose of doing research and/or getting homework done and you don't have Facebook or any other sites to distract you. You do the research and then that's it. Maybe it's my short attention span but I cannot deal with the virtual when it has to do with serious things like libraries, books, etc. because I just like the traditional version of these kinds of things. Moreover I think they were far more effective in their classic form. A library without books is a ridiculous idea anyway.
Did you say analog versus digital? LP vs. CD? high-end audio vs. the iPod...
ReplyDeleteI don't know, but I think a library should be both actual books and electronic search tools. I really don't believe books will ever disappear from libraries, at least not during my lifetime (life expectancy figures seem to tell me I have a few good years left).
I do think cybereducation can be a positive experience though: poor countries with less than adequate financial and human resources can use it as way to fill the gap they have with more advanced nations. A caveat remains that it will pretty much be self-education and that also poses serious threats to a lot of minds. There must be a way to provide guidance, as to avoid serious pitfalls. I have a few ideas, but a debate would be welcome.
I don't know I think education via the internet is too impersonal for it to be viable. I may be wrong. Isn't having a face to face relationship with your teachers is the best thing for education? I think so.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! Definitely! It is impersonal... But, how about places where (financial and) human resources are lacking? Wouldn't you rather have minds that are educated through an impersonal process than non-educated minds? They will, in turn, continue the face-to-face, optimal education process...
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