I'll bite.
Here's my answer. I believe it shows I've learned something in
graduate school. Maybe I'm ready to receive my PhD:
It depends.
Is a doctorate a certificate? Like a union card? Then yes, passing
tests and writing essays should be a sufficient right of passage.
Is a doctorate a form of socialization? Meet people, learn the lingo,
learn what the right tools are, get on the inside of a discipline. I
don't think you can do that through email and watching videos.
As tough as it is for me to admit it, I didn't learn everything on my
own. Without the faculty interaction I'm sure I would not be very
different from when I started, except with more wasted paper and
disjointed factoids. A doctorate to me is part socialization, part
impressive hurdle jumping.
Besides, hopefully the things you learn in a PhD program are cutting
edge. If faculty took the time to prep distance learning graduate
seminars, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the field.
One of my cohorts moved mid-program and took her last class from
another state. We were supposed to videotape class discussions and
arguments, she was supposed to email back her points. By the time we
got her carefully crafted email comments, we just didn't care any
more. The debate was over or laid to rest and she really didn't get a
part in that. Even if she was in the class with a teleconference
system, I still don't think she could have participated when things
got heated.
I don't know if that's good fodder for you, Dennis, but there's my 2c.
On 5 Jul 2000 09:23:08 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (dennis roberts)
wrote:
: on another list i am on ... deos-l ... a distance education listserv ... we
: have been having some discussion about whether or not it is possible (and
: readily doable) to have a doctoral program (say in instructional systems
: ... though the discussion has not restricted it to this area) TOTALLY (or
: darn near totally) delivered ONLINE ... or, using some kind of a distance
: education format ... which would use online delivery as a major
: instructional strategy ...
:
: this discussion came about due to request by a list member ... to locate
: some doctoral program ... which would be (more or less) all online ... to
: which i took exception asking:
:
: why would one want to do that? and ... i challenged whether pedagogically
: ... the full range of objectives of a doctoral program could be achieved
: that way ...
:
: now, i appear to be on ONE side of the debate ... and all the others seem
: to be tossing darts at me ... how could i be a proponent of distance (and
: online) education and challenge such a notion
:
: so, i am asking you ... what thoughts might you have about this? do you
: think that the doctoral degree program that you might have gone through (or
: even if you did not ... your opinions about it) could have been delivered
: all online or at a distance?
:
: if yes ... why
:
: if no ... why not
:
: what elements of a 'typical' doctoral program, if any, could not be (in
: your view) handled this way?
:
: i am not looking for ammunition to be able to shoot back but, this IS an
: interesting debate ... and, does have implications for how doctoral
: education is conceptualized and how it is operationally handled in the future
:
: thanks for your input
:
: ==========================================================
: Dennis Roberts, EdPsy, Penn State University
: 208 Cedar Bldg., University Park PA 16802
: Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], AC 814-863-2401, FAX 814-863-1002
: WWW: http://roberts.ed.psu.edu/users/droberts/drober~1.htm
:
:
:
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