Today's LA Times has an op-ed by John Villasenor of UCLA about online vs. face-to-face teaching. I think he offers a pretty standard view of instruction, and this paragraph illustrates his key point that the in-person, classroom experience is what is special about teaching: A course is also made effective by the unscripted interactions that occur as students gather before and after the class, and by the simple fact that the physical act of getting to class requires at least some investment of time and energy. In short, attending a well-run class in person is immersive and engaging in a way that far exceeds anything that consumer technology can possibly hope to deliver now or in the foreseeable future. Oddly enough, the article is accompanied by a photo of students in a chemistry lecture at UCLA in what appears to be a very large auditorium. To me, this instructional format is not one that offers the type of engaging and interactive learning experience that I enjoyed as a stude...
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