(An article by Sherman Chen)
While we are proactively engaging with potential organisations to participate in the onlinelabseries (through partnership), I've decided to take some time to share more about the basis and reason behind my desire to make onlinelabseries a free platform/community for education & skills training for anyone around the world. In my relatively brief period of being financial broke (while pursuing my passion in technology), and most of the time not having enough money to do the things I really wanted to do, I've had a taste of what it would be like for those who simply cannot afford proper education, or even skills development programmes to help them be equipped to find employment. Though seeking employment wasn't my reason for desiring skills development, I believed that many others around the world needed access to those programmes. Growing up as a youth, I never always did very well in school, I hated tests and exams, but I always had a thing for practical hands-on learning. I excelled and thrive in subjects that included hands-on work, like in Sciences, Geography (depending on topics), Technical subjects (usually class is in the workshop). Though I never appreciated the need for an exam of test, I always knew how important education really is.
Real Purpose Behind Education
I'm not a teacher and thus I can't speak with that authority on the subject, however, speaking as someone who has apply what I've learned through the years, I can say only one thing - the real reason and purpose behind anything we learn in our lives is so that we can better understand how the world around us works and using that knowledge, turn it into something useful and practical. Classrooms are great, but many people will know this: the moment you leave school, or university and step into the workforce, you usually only apply 10% of what you have learned in the classroom environment. 95% of what I am doing today didn't come from my learning in school, it came from my hands-on experience and stuff that I picked up along the way.
Don't get me wrong. I think that schools are still important and you should still send your kids to school, encourage them to study well. But you should also remind them that the real reason for seeking education is not so that they can pass a test, or get a better grade, so they can get into a better class, or a better school, or that they can get a better job. That is really the wrong mindset.
In school, I think that teachers, lecturers and professors should also emphasise to their students that the whole reason they are spending thousands of dollars a year in school is not so much to get that degree or masters, but it's really that they can gain better knowledge and know how to apply them into the real world when they leave.
Why Free?
When you do a google search online, which is easy, you will find many useful resources from reputable humanitarian sites that talks about the lack of education in various parts of the world. So I am going to just summarise everything here. It is a fact that at this very current moment, there are millions of children out there around the world that comes from developing and third-world countries that simply do not have the financial capability to seek out education. While some people are contributing food and daily necessities to them, the next most important thing is about bring education to those people.
Free Education for Youths & Young Children
Our vision at onlinelabseries is to one day be able to bring free education to those children and youths in the most remote parts of the world. It's not the contemporary type of learning in a classroom, but rather it's to provide practical and hands-on learning so that they can actually become independent and self-educated even if they didn't have proper access to a school wherever they are. A simply thing like a smartphone, or a tablet would be enough for them to learn something.
Ultimately, perhaps one day, we might even be able to sponsor all these children with everything they need to learn and they don't have to pay a dime for it.
Free Education for Adults (Skills Development)
If you were to take the unemployment rate for each nation in the world and combine those numbers together, I won't be surprise that we can come up to a pretty huge number. So, I actually went off half-way through this article and decided to look up Wikipedia. Now, we might all know that wikipedia is a great source of information, generally speaking, but it might not always be the most accurate or up to date. So whatever numbers I managed to consolidate can be considered a pessimistic number at best.
In the statistics which I compiled, bear in mind that I have hidden a bunch of rows in the middle and I also didn't exactly compile all the countries in the world. I follow the first 35 in alphabetical order and then after that I just picked selected countries (both developing and first world nations, including Singapore). You can see the math. I always believe when you want to convince others that something needs to be done, you have to show them the real numbers. And I believe the one you see above is really below what could really be the case in the real world now.
So, if onlinelabseries has a way of providing free skills development to even 10% or 20% of those numbers worldwide, I think we can really change the world & our society.
Everyone in this world, regardless of where you are, or what your current financial situation is, deserves a chance at improving yourself.
I personally believe that if studying and education by itself really isn't about getting a certification, then honestly, "learning" about a subject or topic, or skill shouldn't have to be a paid privilege for those that can afford it. Everyone in this world, regardless of where you are, or what your current financial situation is, deserves a chance at improving yourself.
Quality of Education Shouldn't be Determined by Grades Alone
I have been working for more than a decade of my life. This is what I have observed and think. I think that better quality education shouldn't have to be determined by our grades in school. If true learning, true education isn't about the grades or the exams we take, then shouldn't the education institutions be judging students by what they can actually do with what they have already learned?
Some folks from academia might argue now that some student's knowledge at certain level might not have enough to actually prove what they know is useful. Well then, I think if they haven't acquired enough knowledge to prove they can do something useful with it, then we shouldn't be judging them based upon their grades to see if they deserve to go into MIT, or Caltec and so on.
I know of folks who have Ph.Ds and multiple Masters or Degrees and they simply can't solve or comprehend a real world problem or find a effective solution to solve those problems. In some of those cases, I have been the one to provide them with the advice and solution.
Personally, as a tech professional, I only have a Diploma, not even a Degree. At one point, I was convinced to take up a part-time degree course, but I gave up after a few years simply because it's just not for me. But in my area of influence right now, I know of folks who have Ph.Ds and multiple Masters or Degrees and they simply can't solve or comprehend a real world problem or find a effective solution to solve those problems. In some of those cases, I have been the one to provide them with the advice and solution. Just because you have gone to the best university in the world, it doesn't guarantee that you will be able to solve the problems in the world that you are going to face.
...the person who actually scored a C might actually go a lot further in life than the one who did score an A
So, here is my conclusion, I believe that anyone, anywhere in the world should be given an equal opportunity to sit in a class in MIT or Caltec, and receive the same quality of education as someone who actually scored the qualifying grade. Because one day in the future, the person who actually scored a C might actually go a lot further in life than the one who did score an A.
Changing the Motivations Behind Learning
Another area that I sought to change is really the methods of learning. But before we even dive into those methods, what I really wanted to focus on the the motivations behind learning. Why do you want to learn something? Maybe you are interested in science since you were a child, or you always wanted to study biology, or botany. Whatever your interests may be, you shouldn't have to be turned away from having the chance to pursue your interests and passion simply because your grades in school were not good enough. Some of us are made for the textbooks, some of us just falls asleep on page 10.
I think that the real problem behind our world's education system is that we aren't focusing strongly enough on the motivations behind learning. We aren't conveying that motivation strongly enough to our students, or those seeking to learn something new.
Just think about the concept of "supply and demand". When you create a certain demand, the supply will eventually follow. In the real world of education, it's the same. If the demand is really for better grades, then people will only feel motivated to study because of better grades to get into schools and not to learn how to use that knowledge to do something useful, practical. But if the focus of learning and education had been changed to focus on solving real world problems, we might just find ourselves being surprised by what these individuals can come up with.
When people are motivated to solve problems, it removes un-necessary competition, which then removes stress, and also creates an environment of creativity, promotes comradery & teamwork, it helps people to embrace their own individuality, differences, and the uniqueness of each other's talents and abilities. When we change the motivation behind learning, we have the potential of shaping this world we live in.
That Leads Us to onlinelabseries
Which then leads us to onlinelabseries. At onlinelabseries, our long-term goal and vision is to bring creative learning, skills development training to people of all ages, anywhere in the world. It doesn't matter if you have the financial capability or not, of if you scored Cs or failed in school before. If you have the right attitude of wanting to improve yourself, we welcome you to this community/platform. We believe in giving everyone a chance to better themselves and getting themselves ahead in their career and their lives. Everyone deserves a chance to create a better life for themselves and their families.
Everyone deserves a chance to create a better life for themselves and their families.
Eventhough the onlinelabseries is designed in such a way that we have long-running series that spans across a year (similar to a school year), our goal is not to conduct final tests or exams. There are no certifications involved. Although we do foresee a chance to partner with selected certification institutions if some folks desire to actually get the physical cert for themselves. But at onlinelabseries, when you come here to learn, our aim is to help you to learn better.
...at onlinelabseries, when you come here to learn, our aim is to help you to learn better.
The reason why we have placed such a strong emphasise on the word "lab" is because we want to always focus on hands-on learning. I believe that hands-on learning from a young age, or even if you are 55 years old, it is still the best way to learn something new. We definitely hope that through onlinelabseries, we can one day help touch and impact millions of lives around the world.