What good is college??

What does “higher education” mean when almost the entire world’s information is accessible online in Wikipedia, et. al.? Actually, it’s been some time since the real value of a college education was to gather and memorize a set of facts about one’s field.

The value of a real college education is learning how to:

  • Think critically
  • Locate information
  • Evaluate the quality of information
  • Act effectively on information
  • Develop productive social skills
  • Develop a social network
  • Validate these skills with the sheepskin

If schools focused on even the first, users would move away from simply cribbing content from Wikipedia and its relatives. For example, try this for an exam:

Review the Wikipedia [Fox News, New York Times, Drudgereport] article on _______________. Critically evaluate its content for factual errors, bias, or assumptions. Produce a revised version incorporating corrections as needed.

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