This may sound a bit silly, but with all the vast amounts of information on Wikipedia (provided that the information is correct, of course) nowadays, would it actually be possible to earn the equivalent of a university degree – let’s say, in history for example – by reading pages on Wikipedia? Assuming a university is merely a place where higher education takes place, just one of the many places and ways to educate yourself, ultimately, does it really matter where you get your knowledge from?
#1 by firefighterwife on May 6, 2010 - 12:13 pm
If you want the information you learned to be recognized by others, than you need to go to a regionally accredited college or university. Otherwise, if you’re just looking for self fulfillment, that websites are okay, but remember, those sites are not always accurate. Anyone can post anything on Wikipedia.
#2 by Teddybearcub on May 6, 2010 - 12:25 pm
University is more than reading. (Discussion, research, viewpoints, exams, library usage, organized body of study, lab work…) And Wikipedia can be altered.
And Universities grant recognizable degrees; Wiki doesn’t.
However the internet does provide lots of information.
#3 by alphadelicious on May 6, 2010 - 12:50 pm
You won’t get a piece of paper saying you learned such and such, but if you just want the knowledge, I think you can. I’ve thought about doing this myself, not just Wikipedia but also some university sites that offer free lectures like MIT CourseWare and perhaps by checking out books and reading them on my own. In principle, university should be better due to class discussions and interaction with other students, but for me I’ve only had maybe 2 courses that had any kind of discussion (I’m about to graduate this term). Pretty much everything I’ve had was just lectures, assignments, and exams, and I think I actually learn worse this way compared to studying by myself because of the pressure in doing assignments/studying makes me less interested in the subject. Right now I’m feeling unmotivated by my courses, I just want to get everything over with to get my degree, but I think after I’m done I’m going to learn things on my own. But it’s easier to say “I learned X from taking a course” to an employer than learning by yourself because there’s no proof you did.