Chris Hutchins

About three weeks ago this dreaded “you need new brake pads” light came on in my car. I went into a local brake shop only learn that my car needed new front brake pads and rotors (cost: ~$400). Wondering if it had to be so expensive, I did a little research. Just minutes later I found a step-by-step YouTube tutorial on the exact job I had to do on my exact car. I watched the 10 minute video and decided I was up for the challenge. $200 in parts and tools later I was ready to go, and two hours later I had a car that was ready for the road.

This got me thinking about how the Internet is enabling people to do things they never would have attempted before. Sites like YouTube, Instructables or eHow have completely changed the way I approach problems. Despite that brakes perform a VERY important function on a car and that I have ZERO experience in brake repair, I still felt that the quality of instruction available to me was high enough that I could manage the job (and 3 weeks and >100 complete stops later I think I was right). So what implications does that have on society? I think it is part of a larger theme: “Community Education.”  People today are sharing so much of what they have to offer for free that I truly believe one could get an education in just about anything without ever having to pay for formal training. In fact even traditional educational institutions like MIT, Yale and UC Berkeley have put lectures, courseware and even textbooks online for the public to consume.

So what does this mean for society at large? I don’t think it means the end of the University, but I do think that we will start to place a greater emphasis on actual accomplishments than we do on specific academic records. However this change won’t happen overnight. We still need to figure out how to organize all this educational material and filter out the garbage. Nonetheless, I’m very excited for what the future holds. If you have any thoughts, comments or opinions, please feel free to comment below!