Digital Delights

The new attention to teaching methods and learning sciences is coming from two directions: faculty who want to make sure their teaching is up to snuff for a wider audience, and technology that allows new levels of interaction with students, and new understanding of students' strengths and weaknesses. 

Harvard Provost Alan Garber said the free online courses can invite comparisons of faculty and course shopping by students. That, along with their scale -- tens of thousands of students will sign up for a course, versus only scores for a large traditional class -- means MOOC instructors now “are working at an entirely different level.”