Over on Slashdot, the following question has 165 comments in under ten hours:
Ask Slashdot: Is E-Learning a Viable Option? – Slashdot
Once again, we should remind ourselves that technology and other materials depend on the teacher’s ability to use those tools wisely. Technology alone is never a panacea. Also, technology does come with its issues.
Students working online, either at home or in class, can and do get distracted. We all do. It’s hard for me not to skip over to check the latest headlines or skim science news RSS feeds. Do you really expect students to be disciplined?
Technology, used wisely, offers amazing new potentials. But, I’ve seen what happens when a teacher doesn’t realize Twitter and Facebook have become the favorite topics of the class period.
Ideally, we teach students to focus. That might be with a book or with an iPad, but focus matters.