Sir, – While I completely understand that third-level students have a sense that they will be missing out by having so little on-campus time this semester, it really needs to be pointed out that the quality of their education can and will be maintained.
The reality is that in many disciplines – maybe not all – the lecture is not an effective way of teaching. The advantages of techniques like screencasting are many, including that they give the learner the power to review and study material multiple times in their own time and at their own pace. This is the epitome of the “flexible learning” approach that educators and so-called futurists have been promoting for many years, to nods of approval from all and sundry.
Now that it is actually happening, everyone seems to be in a state of panic. Whatever about the student “experience”, the quality of our third-level education will be maintained and, in some cases, enhanced. – Yours, etc,
GREG FOLEY,
Associate Professor,
Bioprocess Engineering
Programme,
Dublin City University,
Dublin 9.