Harvard University Speech

The speech was written in 2023 for my course at Harvard University.

Why we should trust online education

We all remember how the year 2020 started. In March 2020, everyone was observing the unfolding situation in China and other parts of the world as the new, previously unknown, and viciously evil virus started claiming the lives of the most vulnerable. Many asked the question: will the world be the same when it all comes to an end?

One of the first changes introduced in these new perilous times was doing more things online. Many people feared the potential inefficiency of this new system. The fear that humanity had known for centuries. The fear brought about by the invention of steam engines, electricity, vaccines, and computers.

I’ve been an educator and tutor for almost 13 years. I have taught big groups and tutored individual clients, trained business people, and helped younger students to achieve their goals. I have experienced the changes brought about by the 2020 Covid pandemic with millions of my colleagues. While it was the worst of times, it proved to be the best of times for changes, the changes that are still making the world a better place, which limit inequalities and stop discrimination.

After several years, everyone can see that online education brought us to another level of development though being constantly criticized by the slow and wrinkled, dusty, and extremely old-fashioned ghost of old education. And this specter is still haunting the world.

So how is this brave new world of online education better than the traditional system?

Online education is accessible. It provides access to education to the masses without asking whether they live in a small village or a bustling metropolis, whether they are physically challenged or can’t travel long distances. But the ghost of old education does not tolerate egalitarianism.

Online education is cost-effective. It is simply more affordable than traditional learning. It has lower overheads. It eliminates the costs of transportation and campus fees and lowers the cost of accommodation or food. Thousands of students can listen to one lecturer. But the ghost of old education shall not fight financial inequalities.

Online education means flexibility. It often allows students to learn at their own pace. They can fit their studies around work, family, or even another course or degree. But the ghost of old education does not accept change.

Online education is all about synergy and dialog. With this format, students can interact and the resources and ideas are shared. Each individual can contribute to the discussion and leave feedback for others. Online asynchronous discussion structure makes room for deeper reflection on the comments of others and more thorough understanding. But the ghost of old education does not want students to communicate.

Finally, online education costs 90% less energy and releases 85% less CO2. It simply saves our planet.

If you seek egalitarianism, if you seek cost effectiveness, if you seek flexibility, if you seek synergy, and dialog and want to save our planet, then online education is your key to the chamber of endless opportunities. It allows us to grow and evolve, develop and unite to build a better future. But the ghost of old education keeps this chamber secret. This wrinkled and sophisticated ghost of obsolete schooling is not a ghost from the past. It is still alive. It still haunts the hearts of teachers, parents, and business people. This uneducated educator, a living remnant of a dying system, still sows fear.

And fear there will continue to be. The only way to fight this fear is to educate about online education itself: through gradual change, through setting good examples, and through showing its fruits and effectiveness. Fear of change has always had sharp teeth and scary faces but eventually turned out to be nothing more than a temporary nuisance at most. Let us not fear, let us build a better education for everybody. Together and now. Thank you.