How Technology is Changing Access to Knowledge

In a very short period of time, the Internet has changed knowledge and education in very significant ways. There is no college or university class in the world that does not utilize the Internet in some way. Even people who aren’t in college can use Internet technology to enlighten and educate themselves once more.

Online learning classes can be as varied as sewing or photography classes to HTML and legal workshops, but right now, an educational online revolution is occurring. Some of the most expensive and influential educational institutions from all over the world are recording their top professors and classes and allowing access to these lectures all over the world. This is highly significant. For most of recorded time, education has been relegated to those who had power and those who had the financial means to pay for an advanced education.

If this educational reform continues, it might change the structure of education forever. No longer is knowledge left to those who are able to pay for it, but it is also available to those who wish to apply themselves. Obviously, these sites would not apply to just any college degree, but they still allow unprecedented access to an education once reserved for the few.

Websites, such as Academic Earth and ITunes, offer a multitude of courses that range from history to media to medicine. Essentially, these online schools help to proliferate knowledge to those who might not otherwise have access to it. With the courses presented on these websites, people might find that they are inclined toward a particular subject and hence find their passion. They may find that they want go back to school and apply for online health degrees, graphic design courses, or even try to get into an M.B.A. program.