The Uberisation of Education

10/4/2018

By Francis Stagg

Issue 6

At present, there exists throughout the law school a movement to make classes available to students via online recordings. In this brief report, I will not defer to the merits of such a process; most of them are obvious and stem from the benefits of being able to access material instantaneously.

Rather, I seek to identify the dangers that are inherent in a move towards “online education.”

Firstly, it is worth noting that the teaching model at the school is tailored towards seminars, not lectures. This means that the ‘kind’ of learning that is currently practised requires a back-and-forth exchange between teachers and students. If a student explores this new content via recordings, they necessarily deprive themselves of this interactive component. For example, the student is incapable of deciphering the teacher’s body language, thus missing out on the physical emphasis placed upon a given point.

This is but one initial concern I have with what amounts to a far greater evil: the ‘uberisation’ of education.

Uberisation is no novel concept. Many aspects of modern society reflect this push towards achieving maximum output resulting from minimal input. This is a perfectly viable solution to an age-old question; how best to distribute a finite allocation of resources. However, there must be limits to a system of resource allocation that pursues maximum efficiency over and above all else.

In recent years, the task of facilitating maximal efficiency has seen a near-absolute displacement of traditionally human components in favour of wholly or substantially computerised processes. If this remark strikes you as far-fetched, I invite you to log in to Facebook and observe how the modern day social encounter has become inherently ‘digital.’

Which brings me to my central point. If the school were to wholeheartedly release recorded seminars, I am convinced that class attendance would necessarily suffer. Of course, students would still endeavour to attend classes. This will be especially so in the first month of semester. However, this does not account for the impact that would potentially be seen over an entire semester, or indeed a three-year degree, let alone the impact that might be seen over decades. For many, at some point, diligence will give way to practicality. Class attendance would therein be diminished.

The problem of reduced attendance is not just academic in nature. It also encompasses broader, socio-cultural qualities. To understand how this is the case, it is necessary to contemplate the current arrangement at the school.

The current set up is unique. Notwithstanding special circumstances, class recordings are not released to the main cohort. In effect, this has more or less created one hundred percent attendance. As a result of this, there exists a strong culture of scholarship, commitment and community. Such a culture would be sorely missing in a series of progressively sub-attended classes. Indeed, as soon as attendance is compromised, one loses the opportunity to make friends; to make acquaintances; to even observe and be around one’s peers.

In essence, this is why I think that the school should never make available seminar recordings to all students without restraint. In today’s landscape, where everything is being computerised and made instantaneous, we are nullifying a real, human element in our society. The ‘people factor’ is giving way to electronic screens. Given that the school has maintained a strict policy against recorded lectures, it would be a shame to see it succumb (in part) to the uberisation of education. This is especially poignant when so many other facets of our lifestyle have already been subsumed by the ‘digital revolution.’

Francis is a Second Year JD Student

Late for a very important date

10/4/2018 07:53:29 pm

But how am I supposed to juggle my 40 hour a week job, volunteer at the local CLC, raise my three children AND attend all my classes in person?

Priorities Dispute

10/4/2018 08:20:59 pm

Should've done some proper research before enrolling!

NPJ

10/4/2018 09:10:11 pm

Actually, the lack of recorded lectures was not included on any material or in any introductory classes, including the welcome to the JD talk, which I have been a part of for two years now. This is further misleading as the a priori position of any faculty is to record lectures.

After 2 years of complaints the law school has finally included a page explaining their position, not upfront on the future students page though. That has come in within the last 12 months.
Maybe you should do your research before commenting?

Illegitimate expectations

10/4/2018 09:45:38 pm

I think if you are enrolling in a course that is intended to be delivered face to face, you are committing to attending those face to face lectures. You can't then say you had some expectation that you would not have to turn up in person to classes. The existence or non existence of recorded lectures is then completely irrelevant to your choice to enroll.

If people want to do their study online, they should enroll in an online course. ANU offers an online JD so maybe that would be more suitable to some of the people complaining about this.

Stefan P

11/4/2018 08:14:49 pm

Is it really necessary to sarcastically attack people who have commitments outside of law school and are trying to do something to improve their position in life?

The push for lecture recording is currently attempting to remove the arbitrary '10 missed days of class' threshold that has been placed on accessing special consideration lecture recordings.

I believe that people (say someone who catches a cold/flu for a week or more), should be able to apply for access to the lectures they have missed, as all it takes is one week to be behind in law school... is that unreasonable?

And yes, I already have access to these special consideration recordings, and would you believe it?!?! I consistently and diligently attended 83.333333% of classes - more than most I would say? (I miss one a week to do the unbelieve and blasphemous thing of spending time with my child)

Please next time do your research on what we are actually trying to accomplish and if you're going to say something so obnoxious and childish - don't hide behind a fake name :)

Anon

10/4/2018 08:15:56 pm

Brilliant piece !

Lily Hart

10/4/2018 08:43:57 pm

Great piece Francis! You’ve mentioned all the things I’ve felt but have been too lazy to write

The inevitable

10/4/2018 08:44:36 pm

You're arguing against the inevitable. It's going to happen, it's just a matter of when.

The avoidable

10/4/2018 09:33:19 pm

Inevitability is always a shit argument. Nothing is written. If I had a dollar for every time something I’ve heard described as inevitable didn’t actually come to pass, well I might have about $140

ACTUALLY INEVITABLE

14/4/2018 02:03:48 pm

It's already uni policy, the law school is just exempting itself for no good reason.

So sometimes "it's inevitable" mightn't be right, the law school's already behind. So yeah, it's inevitable.

Water off a duck's back

10/4/2018 08:55:48 pm

Nothing new here, this is the same cynical posturing and attempt to mischaracterise an initiative for student equity as somehow to be conflated with university being treated more as a business. You're Socrates telling his students that they shouldn't read or write things down in books when Plato knew better.

As we know, those that don't work and come from privileged backgrounds are more typically inclined to support not recording lectures on some vaguely defined philosophical basis. Meanwhile, anyone disadvantaged recognises the benefit of lecture recordings - not because they are victims, but because this empowers them to learn where there would otherwise be barriers. Stop being so cruel.

Former student

10/4/2018 09:22:26 pm

What a load of garbage.

I moved out of home at the age of 18 and supported myself through two degrees.

The suggestion that having a job and living out of home is an excuse for not attending lectures is facile. With the support of Centrelink I only had to work around 14 hours per week to support myself. This left more than enough time for attending class and studying. Sure, it wasn't a glamourous existence, but student life isn't meant to be.

Water

10/4/2018 09:59:49 pm

Former Student on paper mine is a similar situation to yours yet our experiences and perspectives differ indeed. Too many other variables impact upon this.

As for Sports Analogist, your comments are more reasonable, though you underplay the costs and overstate the benefits. But at least you've acknowledged minds may differ on this.

Sports analogist

10/4/2018 09:53:27 pm

I think we can all agree that recording lectures levels the playing field between those who need to work and those who do not need to work, although I disagree that someone supporting themselves through work while studying is significantly negatively impacted by that.

What those of us who oppose recorded lectures are saying is that the deleterious effects of recording lectures outweighs the benefit of leveling the playing field. The field might be leveled, but instead of being covered in lush comfy grass it is covered in mud and rocks and stones and makes things worse for everyone.

That's of course a judgement call which people will differ on.

Deleterious to who though?

11/4/2018 11:44:07 pm

Your argument, and Francis', fail to recognise that the benefits and detriment are experienced by different people. There might be deleterious effects (I tend to disagree*), but these are relatively minor in comparison to not being able to attend at all. The implication of your argument is that students who cannot attend should be left entirely without access to lectures so that those who can attend don't have to suffer the effects of slightly lower attendance rates. Lower attendance seems like a small sacrifice to make for the sake of allowing someone to access a course they would otherwise be excluded from.

I acknowledge there's argument about whether or not people who cannot attend should have enrolled in the first place (@priorities dispute, @illegitimate expectations, @former student), but I think they're stupid so I won't bother addressing them. I will say though, everyone's experience is different, and thus we're in no position to tell them they're not trying hard enough.

*I think people who would decide not to attend merely because there is an easier option available by way of online recordings are likely not the ones contributing most to the in-class discussion.

Tim

12/4/2018 11:30:33 am

Thank you "DELETERIOUS TO WHO THOUGH?" for putting it better than I could. Well said, I agree completely.

Get Real

11/4/2018 10:01:24 am

It's time to please acknowledge that a huge chunk of the student population comes to class and simply twiddles away on computers and phones.

And three cheers for WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK for calling out the Luddites.

11/4/2018 10:25:52 am

Yeah, let's not indulge a fantasy that every single student in a lecture is rapturously and vociferously engaging in a passionate and worthwhile discourse with the lecturer. Granted, interactivity in lecturer's and asking questions and worthwhile discussion definitely does happen, but it's not every student, and it's not all the time.

The students who wouldn't rock up AT ALL, ever if lectures were recorded out of mere laziness (not need) probably aren't the students who are speaking up the most anyway or contributing to our idealised view of Dead Poets' Society-esque inspirational classroom spiels.

Jeremy Gans

11/4/2018 01:40:28 pm

I record all my lectures and have done so for the entirety of the JD. The recording system gives me detailed stats on who listens to lectures, which lectures and when. Fewer than 15% listen to any lecture recordings, so that's the most that could be absent due to lecture recordings (in my classes anyway.) The system shows that many of those who listen listen to difficult classes (hearsay for instance) in the week before the exam.

Tilly

11/4/2018 02:03:07 pm

Yeah I've been meaning to thank you for having recordings available for Criminal Law last semester. They were a really good way to revise material I couldn't grasp properly. Plus, having clinical depression with pretty staunch physical symptoms meant that it was a way to study that wasn't reading-based. As many of you would know, sometimes you can really try to be productive but comprehend maybe a third of what you read.

And for the sake of the ongoing debate/ full disclosure, I juggle a full class load with work and volunteering - have been out of home for quite some time so like many of my peers, working enables me to eat and pay rent. I'd say I attend 95% of classes overall but for those few where I haven't been able to, recordings would have been helpful. I guess it's water under the bridge because I'm leaving this year but all this discussion really has illuminated wider issues MLS has with economic barriers and their conflict with very valid pedagogical concerns.

Just ask this scientician

11/4/2018 03:02:58 pm

I wasn’t exactly taking numbers but it definitely felt like there was usually much more than 15% of the class absent from your Criminal Law and Procedure classes. I’m thinking something closer to 50%. So maybe 35% if the class neither showed up for lectures or bothered to listen online.

11/4/2018 05:39:19 pm

You're roughly right. I blame my awesome textbook.

12/4/2018 08:37:28 am

I've never been in one of Professor Gans's classes. Is there a lot of discussion/interactivity that the author of this article suggest might disappear with recordings?

My experience where classes have been recorded (I.e sometimes when classes are moved because of a public holiday the "make-up class" is recorded) is that irrespective of attendance, there is just as much discussion.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

11/4/2018 08:10:35 pm

Those accusing the author of elitism and privilege seem to have missed his acknowledgment of "special circumstances". This piece is clearly addressing the cohort as a whole- not suggesting that lectures should never be recorded.

Sverre

12/4/2018 10:50:52 am

While I think the broader discussion about student equity is important, greater attention needs to be paid to the immediately damaging impact of the current policy regarding illness.

Currently when people come down with a cold or something they feel compelled to attend seminars because they can't access lecture recordings and working from someone else's notes isn't the same. The inevitable result being that the illness spreads throughout the cohort.

From a policy perspective, the law school could make lecture recordings available to those who have a medical certificate for short term illness without having any significant impact on class attendance, and in fact would benefit the cohort as a whole by preventing the spread of infection.

12/4/2018 11:28:10 am

This is a great point that I think gets too easily swept under the rug as trivial. You don't need a degree in epidemiology to know that sick people being at large public gatherings (I.e, lectures!) is a recipe for the spread of illness. I genuinely believe, and we have good reason to think, that the students and staff of MLS would get unwell less often if lectures were recorded, because the ill will stay home.

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