A UK study held in Cardiff, Bath, Somerset, Blaenau Gwent and the Forest of Dean by the Cardiff University has “found” that “people were more likely to use the internet for hobbies such as music-making and compiling a family tree” instead of taking part in lifelong e-learning programs.
I agree when people at Cardiff say that “background had more bearing than online access on whether people studied” and, specially, that “once the government provides computer access, it is up to educators and IT companies to put forward the content that attracts people”.
Nevertheless, I guess the sample was not representative for the whole planet but for urban zones at industrialized countries, where there’s a real chance to take courses off-line, say, round the corner, at any school, university or plenty-of-places else.
I you take some other place, a rural village in the middle of an underdeveloped country, access to the network is access to education in most cases.
So, let’s think it twice, it’s alright ;)
[via Online Learning Update]