Online Learning.

Online learning is like ketogenic diet or leather pants. Feels like something you should definitely try, but within 2 weeks you’re back to looking at bread like your dog looks at a tennis ball.I too was sucked into this online learning hype. I mean why not. Get a degree from Harvard. I mean fucking Harvard! And all while still sitting in the comfort of my apartment wearing boxers if I choose to wear anything at all.

But this is where it falls apart for me. I realize we now have the opportunity to learn anything we want for free from Youtube. Hell, that’s how I repaired my laptop the last 2 times it crashed. Needless to say, the amount of money I saved by watching DIY videos for everything from repairing cars to building racks (fuck you IKEA).

We have this whole new culture where we never have to go to University. If we learn the skills, we can get a job as long as its IT related. It doesn’t do shit for most other fields.Yet. But the problem is that despite all the advantages of online learning, almost nobody ever completes it. I mean the average completion rate for online courses is 4%. 4%!!! Fucking hell I have better chances of getting laid than completing this online course.
After countless efforts and enrolling in at least 20 courses of which I completed 2, I know why it doesn’t work.

And here it is:

1. It’s free or really cheap: I have no motivation or incentive unless my job or future really depends on it.
2. No societal pressure: Nobody knows I’m taking the course. So nobody will know I failed. Shame can be a powerful motivator. Hell, the only reason I got good grades in high school was so my family wouldn’t disown me.
3. No classmates: Yes, most courses have forums. But hardly anyone really bonds there. We only go there to find solutions to problems when we get stuck.
4. No learning environment: Being in an environment like the classroom where all you do is learn can influence you to focus and learn instead of the just sitting in your room where you eat, sleep, watch tv and masturbate.
5. No Strict deadlines: Let’s face it, if we didn’t have deadlines at University we would never have gotten our degrees. Deadlines are important to keep us moving. ‘Students are like rockets. They only work if their ass is on fire’.
6. Credibility: Online degrees just don’t demand the same amount of respect as degrees from attending a top-notch University.

That being said there are few people who have radically changed their lives and careers with these courses. So hats off to them.

And of course, there are courses now that boasts a much better completion rate.And the way these courses have a better completion rate is by making it very expensive, difficult to get in and make the course highly intense and valuable by working in a small group. So, basically like attending a Top University.