Fellow Forum Members,
Since the beginning of the year, I have been taking a college
class on Digital Photography via the I'net. I was excited, as
it was my first college-level class. It did not quite meet all
my expectations, as it really seemed to be pitched toward what
I considered an early high-school level of scholarship. The
text book, however, Ben Long's _Complete Digital Photography
(Second Edition)_, was pretty complete; dated (as any text has to be), but pretty complete.
But I was not taking the class for the digital learning. I knew at least as much about digital photography as the instructor. I was in the class just to have an official course under my belt, AND to have my photos analyzed and discussed by someone who knew photography much better than I. I looked forward to criticism, as we grow only by making and correcting mistakes. My first submission was well analyzed. The rest were merely praised. That was another slight disappointment. Still, I was enjoying the course with a solid A (possibly the highest grade in the class).
Rand,
I'm not in Photography or Fine Arts, but am a PhD student in Philosophy. So, not everything will carry-over or apply directly.
You experience sounds unfortunate. Obviously, I don't know anything about the school you were enrolled with, but it seems to me that not a few universities view e-learning as an easy to do, low maintenance, cash-generating machine. That isn't to say it can't or isn't being done well by some schools, but in many cases I think the quality of instruction and education would be less than with a brick and mortar class setting.
UNTIL
The instructor gave away to anyone in the class who wanted one a burned copy of his personal image correction software. At least that is how it seemed to me.
I immediately withdrew from the class and asked for a refund of my tuition. To me, this was institutionalized software piracy and I could no longer participate in the class in any way. I REALLY wanted the credit, but I felt the ethics involved were more important than the credit.
The Query
Was I wrong in this this? Is this how it is done in colleges and universities now? Am I behind the times?
I imagine software piracy is about as prevalent is schools as in business workplaces. (Perhaps, a bit less because of educational licensing practice.) I am sure that not every copy of M$-Word or Adobe Acrobat that is on the computers at my university has been paid for.
I don't know that I would have felt it necessary to drop the class
(if you were not required to accept the pirate-ware), but I can certainly respect that you would feel that doing so was the right thing. (It would be a different matter if you were required to use it.) Purely pragmatically though, if you got your tuition back, it was probably a good move!
I would also be skeptical of an e-learning context that did that. I should think that a university or program offering such classes would be able to negotiate some sort of class-based license arrangement from most of the major software vendors. (Though I could be wrong.) That they seem not to have would make me wonder how informed about or committed to the e-learning model they were (as opposed to the 'get lots of $' model).
While this query is directed basically toward the academic instructors on the list, I would appreciate comments from anyone. If I was wrong, let me know and I will consider it just another learning experience, although I am not sure it will lead to personal growth, just understanding.
Query II
Does anyone know of any photo classes at the univerisity level that can be taken via the I'net? (Assuming I am not now blackballed by all colleges and universities throughout the world)? Or better yet, are there any MFAs being offered?
Since you said that the course you were in was your first uni course, I'd be very skeptical of any MFA ('net or traditional) that allowed you to enroll. After I finished my MA in Philosophy, I semi-seriously thought about trying to do an MFA. The 5 or 6 programs I looked at all required either that I had get a BFA first or that I do a "qualifying year" of FA coursework before I could enroll into the MFA program. So, any program that let you jump into the Master's level without previous coursework would probably be much more interested in your money than your education.
I'd also say that much of what makes doing an advanced degree worthwhile would be missing from a 'net-based course. Call be a Luddite, but without heated discussions with fellow students and profs, be they in classes or in pubs, at least half the benefit (and much of the fun) is missing. Internet chats and email lists can go some distance to closing the gap, but they don't get all the way there, IMO. This would seem particularly applicable to a visual area with practical techniques as well as theory at play.
Best wishes for your further study,
Brian vdB
