Drone Course: Go or No Go?

Can fly a drone, knows the rules…

Sam: You’ve been flying drones for years. Do you need a certificate?

Antonio: I don't actually need a licence but am toying with the idea of taking a course with a 101 level course. It costs about $300.

Sam: Can your pension pay for that? 

Antonio: It’s affordable. 

Sam: And the use of it? 

Antonio: I could do some drone photography if I showed them a credential, but it’s not a pressing vocational need. Do you think this an ego trip at my stage of life? Or might there be an existential justification for wanting to take the course?

Sam: Gives you a new credential. A badge. Hones your cognition. Maybe meet new friends. These sorts of things extend life meaningfully. Is it a useful course?

Antonio: It’s asynchronous online. I teach online so I know how that works. Maybe not so much face to face with others. Practical test is with one of their team. Reviews are OK. I’ve got four weeks of relatively free time. 

__________

Voice-over

Less an ego trip, more of an life-extending existential exploration.

Less an ego trip, more of an life-extending existential exploration.

Online Education: Immortality as Motivation

Immortal Jellyfish: Turritopsis nutricula

...Ghosh is quizzed by his academic sister Cerese:

Ghosh: I’ve enrolled. Marine Biology. Online.

Cerese: But distance learning can feel very isolating. Studying on your own. Not knowing if you’re the only one having difficulty.

Ghosh: And his field: immortality. Jellyfish.

Cerese: OK. Great topic. Useful. But academics don’t always make their online offerings palatable. Long tracts of text, no pictures – did you know 80% of what we learn is visual?

Ghosh: PDFs to read, JPGs to illustrate, YouTube talks to listen to, site links to virtual reality museum tours, videoconferencing one a week of the online learning community.

____________

Voice-over

Online learning is not for everyone.

Instructors have a responsibility to entertain as well as educate. For example, Shin Kubota is great at karaoke.

Students have a responsibility to make sure they have a need for taking the course. Who can argue with immortality for motivation?

See movie on online education here:

http://youtu.be/Qb5HwW3220g

...