One of the better lines from the movie “Good Will Hunting” was that you could get the equivalent of a Harvard education with a (free) library card. That is true as far as it goes—but only if you have the discipline and self-motivation. Only a very few people do. However, at the end of the day, you won’t get that all important piece of paper unless you fork over the $$.
FUnny how nobody with a degree ever claims that. Most of us know that we COULD get such an education, but we WOULDN’T unless we had actual TEACHERS and they cost money.
With motivation, an ordinary person can accomplish great things. Without it, a great person can accomplish only ordinary things. Online learning is missing the main classroom motivations: competition with peers, and social status for success. This could be added, but hasn't been yet.
Time is a limited resource, so why are people wasting time learning things they have no real intention of using or remembering long term? Some types of learning are for temporary use, but most education in college shouldn't be. A missing component to all education is refreshing what you've learned sufficiently throughout your life so that you can use it.
We need a website that is like an automated flash card system, that remembers everything that you've invested the time to learn, and scientifically polls you depending on your recall success. It should be more than just facts memory, but also exercise solving techniques. Competition and status are needed here too.
It's a waste of limited resources for people to learn things they aren't going to maintain. There's too much tourism going on in education.