Category Archives: EDUCATION

Why is higher education so expensive?

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So, you want to go to college. I don’t blame you: college is basically four years of fun (with a side of class for about three hours a day), and when you’re done, you get a big, lavishly framed, magical piece of paper that helps you make money. It’s like there are no downsides!

Well, actually, there is one. The average cost of a college education in the United States is currently about $140,000 for a private institution and $56,000 for a public one. This is quite a hefty price tag for a four year party and a piece of paper – and that’s before you pile on a generous smattering of extra tens of thousands for room, board, and books. Given that the median American household earns just under $45,000 per year, these numbers are very perplexing.

When I talk to people who attended college 40 or 50 years ago, I notice a common theme: many were able to pay for it themselves with part-time side jobs, like working at a restaurant or delivering newspapers. In 2012, the income from such employment would barely be enough to buy books for the semester, let alone cover tuition. The vast majority of today’s students are unable to pay for any kind of college education without sinking into the abyssal chasm of student loan debt.

What changed? Somehow, I doubt that part-time waiters in the old days got the 2012 equivalent of $30,000 a year. The culprit must be tuition.

Why is education so expensive, and how can technology help bring that cost down? This week we’ll be discussing this topic in depth and attempting to find some answers. Stay tuned, Rukuku readers!

Technological problems in education

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While the rapid introduction of new technology into the world of education brings many obvious benefits, it’s worth noting that it creates a host of new problems. An overview of some of the most discussed issues follows.

Cost and socioeconomic disparity. As alluded to in the previous post, the cost of adopting new technologies can be prohibitively high, especially for economically disadvantaged students and locales. The ubiquitous iPad, for example, will set you back at least $500. The fear, then, is that technology could widen the socioeconomic education gap because the quality of education for students of affluent backgrounds, or those that attend cash-rich schools and universities, will skyrocket ahead, while that of their poorer counterparts languishes in mediocrity.

Resistance to the adoption of tech by educators. This problem stems from a very simple set of circumstances. Much of the faculty, both at schools and at universities, is not technologically savvy. The primary reason for this is pretty obvious: the only kind of Blackboard your 60-year old history professor knew when he was growing up was the kind that gave him chalk allergies and occasionally made dreadful screeching noises. Without ever having seen the benefits of new advances convincingly demonstrated, many educators either ignore or actively resist introducing technology into the classroom.

Red tape and institutional resistance. Resistance from bureaucracy is nothing new. Smaller and more autonomous institutions have had an easier time transitioning to new methods of learning; unfortunately, bringing change to a big public education system is like rolling a giant boulder up a hill. It shows: as late as 2010, over a third of US schools still did not have internet access.

Technology as a distraction. Many educators and schools are concerned that introducing iPads, computers, and internet access into the classroom will facilitate students’ knowledge of Farmville rather than science and math. It’s hard to argue with this one; anyone who has sat in the back of a college lecture hall knows that this is a valid concern. By the way, if this is an issue for you, check out our procrastination post.

Lack of research on the effectiveness of particular technologies. Because much of the technology we use in education is so new, there is no conclusive, thorough, peer-reviewed research on its effectiveness.

These concerns are legitimate and serious, and rightly invite robust discussion among stakeholders in education. However, here at Rukuku, we know a couple of things for sure. The problems are not insurmountable, and solving them will only reinforce a very exciting expectation: that technological advancement holds the promise for vast improvements in teaching and learning.

In the next installment, I’ll be discussing the various solutions to the problems outlined here, as well as the very exciting prospects for education in the near future.

[sources for this article: 1, 2, 3]

*Edit 02.03.12: fixed faulty link.

Apple’s initiative and what it represents

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In light of Apple’s recent announcement, this week on the Rukuku blog, I’d like to turn the focus to the implications, issues, and promise of recent tech innovations as they pertain to education. This will be the first post in a series aimed at provoking discussion on the topic.

As often happens when Cupertino executives in black turtlenecks unveil a new creation, the world of tech and education is abuzz over Apple’s new electronic textbook initiative. In case you haven’t heard of it because you live in a hole underground (I do, and trust me, it’s not worth it without internet access), the basic idea is this: Apple, partnering with major publishers, will offer interactive, searchable textbooks that students can purchase cheaply for a yearly subscription.  That’s right, students: no more shelling out $500 every semester for a backache. Instead, all your books will now be neatly and compactly stored on your iPad. Oh, right: you have to buy an iPad. And when you break it (and you will, since you’re a rambunctious college student), you’re gonna have to buy another one. Well played, Apple.


Regardless of the benefits and pitfalls of this particular project, it demonstrates something that is becoming remarkably apparent: technology is changing education permanently and at a rate never seen before. Gone are the days of wasting hours away searching for information in libraries, confining oneself exclusively to reading words on a page in order to learn something, being bored or unmotivated by educators, and other archaic 20th century problems.  Traditional methods of learning are being challenged, questioned, revolutionized, and improved.

If it’s not too immodest to say, that’s where our little company comes in. The world is careening into the future on the bullet train of innovation, and Rukuku is definitely onboard.
Leave us your thoughts on the issue, and stay tuned this week for more on this topic!

Procrastination

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So, Rukuku readers: winter break is long over and we’re back in the grind. For many of us, that means battling a familiar, but destructive, temptation.

You have a major paper due this week. Are you writing it?

Admit it. You’re on the 50th page of Reddit watching a video of kittens dancing flamenco. The Facebook profile on the next tab is that of an individual related to you so loosely that it might legally be considered stalking. Meanwhile, your phone is causing enough desk vibration to register on the Richter scale.

But the Word icon on your taskbar, if clicked, would reveal a solitary cursor flickering away cheerlessly into the whiteness of its space.

In short, you’re procrastinating. And who can blame you? Kicking the can down the road is way more fun than doing work. It’s a cruel paradox of life that a thing so damaging to productivity is just so darn satisfying in the short term. In the long term, though, it’s a cruel and fleeting mistress.

We all know about setting goals, making deadlines, and sticking to schedules. To supplement those, here are a few innovative tips for warding off the habit in the modern age:

1. Your phone is a major distraction. Keep the call ringer on to be reached in case of emergency; turn all other notifications off. That’s right – no more Twitter updates from Justin Bieber.

2. Close all unrelated social media. Unless it’s directly related to what you’re studying, it’s a major distraction. If you really lack discipline, you can even adjust your browser settings to prevent yourself from accessing certain sites for a set period of time. Remember: your Facebook’s news feed is not the most important thing in the world. In fact (and this is the real shocker) it’s not very important at all.

3. Use a procrastination clock. This is an interesting new way to nudge oneself to better time management skills. It tells you when to work and when to play based on your own pre-selected settings. An example can be found here.

4. Reward yourself. As with dessert after a hearty meal, give yourself a little break every now and then. Just make sure the break isn’t the main course.

What are some strategies you use to combat procrastination? Please leave us your input in the comment section.

Nah, who are we kidding? You’re probably just going to put it off.