Joe Allen
Take classes online? It’s as lame as it sounds Corporations are always ready to exploit irrational fear and human frailty. Right on cue, as terror levels rise to red, EdTech peddlers are here to keep us safe
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ast winter, as the Covid panic swept across the world, everyone retreated to the Internet for dubious explanations and germ-free social connection. Most American schools suspended all in-person classes. Without warning, hapless college kids from LA to Appalachia were booted from their dorms to crash on grimy couches or go home to infect mama. For those who wanted to keep learning, the only choice was to pry open their laptops and suffer through the lamest semester in human history. Some six months later, corporate technocrats are still boosting “online learning” as a safe, sanitised way to cultivate the bright minds of the future. Many
12 ColdType | October 2020 | www.coldtype.net
schools have gone online entirely. Most others offer a “blended learning experience”. In place of visceral lectures and intimate discussions, kids will stare at a screen for eight hours a day. And that’s before they fire up the video game consoles. While it’s still unknown how many students will permanently transition to an online existence, the enthusiasts at Tech Jury are pretty optimistic: l The worldwide e-learning market is projected to be worth $325-billion in 2025. l E-learning has prompted an expansion in income for 42 percent of US organisations. l Corporate e-learning developed by a stunning 900 percent between 2001 and 2017.
