Professors are kicking because going online is the first step to eliminating tenured positions and all the campus-housing, inflated salaries, golden parachutes and other perks that professors currently enjoy. Applied science classes, or the labs thereof, bio/chem/physics labs, etc., are the ones that can’t really translate to online, but all of the humanities and academics absolutely can.
I saw one of the Chinese platforms in action and it’s the teacher in a window up top, but the teacher and the students can all see each other in side windows - it’s not a one-to-one skype setup, but a group meeting type setup. I figure if a 20-something American English teacher in China can navigate their platform within a day or two, a liberal American academic teacher should be able to figure it out in a week or two. :)
Moving forward, I can see schools changing drastically. No need to build more elementary or high schools - go online. Eliminates latch-key kids, eliminates bullying, eliminates teacher strikes, bus driver strikes...the list goes on. Save the existing schools for labs that can’t be supported online. And for social events that continue the sense of community. it’s not a new concept - homeschoolers have proved homeschooling works already.
No more $$$$$ brick and mortar schools but they’ll figure out a way to raise our school taxes anyway.
I agree regarding the ABJECT FEAR in the ‘educational community’ - to having their subjects, I mean students, dispersed - possibly with parents looking over their shoulders.
Imagine trying to get the kids to HATE men, HATE whites, HATE straights, HATE America, HATE Christians, and, of course HATE God...when parents are closer to these kids than they are.
In the end, perhaps this is just what we need.