Open-Source Education

Information has never been more accessible. Some think that despite this abundance, this has made people less capable when it comes to learning. For the motivated, learning something new has become a key feature of the information age. This open-source education has created a generation of curious web users who excel in a number of fields, including those outside the tech space. Information hunters scavenging the web to better themselves personally and professionally.

Open-Source Education

Open-source software is software that users can use, study, share, and change. Open-source education possesses the same features.

The internet has removed barriers to higher education. 40 years ago, those interested in developing a firm understanding of economics, transistors, or mechanical engineering were limited by available resources. A decade-old textbook found in the library may still have been relevant, but it wasn’t on par with the analysis, discussion, and critical thinking that a proper education provided. Independent learning wasn’t impossible, but it was difficult.

Today, the Internet offers unparalleled educational opportunities. Thousands of free videos, forum posts, and guided projects litter the web. A detailed answer for almost every question that can be thought of. The textbooks of the internet are not written in ink but in pixels. Pixels that can be edited in real-time to update with new findings. Material can be commented on and questioned to fuel discussion with a classroom of a thousand students and teachers.

Highest Education

Having a degree has never meant that a person knows everything there is to know relating to a subject. It has been a signal that a person is qualified to learn about the subject in the real world. To develop the deeper understanding needed to participate in and forward a field.

While some fields remain committed to the degree, refusing entry to anyone without one, it has become more acceptable for communities to acknowledge other signalers. Not just billionaire dropouts but also the broke motivated individuals who gained a deep understanding of their work through independent study with the aid of the vast trove of information provided by the World Wide Web.

Technical skills have always been easier to learn online than non-technical skills. While discussion over code and electrical systems can be beneficial to the learning process, they are not as core to the process as they are in fields like psychology, literature, and education. There is also a limit to what can be learned from someone’s immediate surroundings. Resources are outgrown and the internet offers more diverse viewpoints.

Tomorrow’s Classrooms

Learning has never been limited to a teacher’s instructions. This will become more obvious to students as the classrooms of tomorrow continue to fill with self-starters who use all the material available to them to develop their knowledge base. Technology will continue to disrupt the education system. School districts and college degrees aren’t going anywhere yet, in fact, institutions may shift focus on using the internet for lifelong learning. Teaching to learn.

Since I was in high school, technology has been incorporated in some involved way. Whether it was YouTube videos assigned for homework or a Quizlet for more effective studying. Yesterday’s classrooms will become more immersive, augmented reality will transport students into lessons. Students will experience the destruction of Pompeii on Monday and tour Tutankhamun’s tomb on Tuesday. AI assistant instructors will modify lesson plans to better suit individual students. No stragglers will be able to slip through the cracks.

The learning gap present right now, where discussion and collaboration are limited, will be closed. In addition to human-like AI models, people will be able to find other online learners more easily to educate each other. There will always be someone to talk to about any subject, not just something to talk to. New technologies will break the remaining barriers of remote communication, putting people on the other side of the globe across from your desk. Cooperative learning will advance online learning and allow it to completely supplement educator-led learning in all fields for those driven enough.

Conclusions

It’s an optimistic view. For all the good technology has done and can do there are still negatives. Our present is not as bright as some of the digital newbies 40 years ago thought it would be. An educated, tech-fueled, future is possible, its development just needs to be managed for us to get there.

Adopting open-source education in and out of school means greater learning in both quality and quantity. There has never been a better time to be a student. There is forever an open seat in the digital classroom. Answers are always a few keystrokes and a click away. Personal motivation is the narrowest bottleneck.