[DaniFong]

A good education is a more personal and independent experience than the article seems to imply. Rarely are the words or presentation of lectures the most valuable thing a school produces; most importantly, education often involves joining a learning community (or synthesizing one's own). This is not trivial: examples on the internet so far produced remain unusual. The video lecture is usually quite awkward: I hazard that it will always remain a limited form, unable to really support much attention or community.

[eas]

I think you are totally right given the current state of video lectures--they are like the first movies, just awkward translations of stage plays that don't take advantage of the ways that a film can be different and better. I'd much rather see a lecture in person today, all else equal. But I imagine as innovators take advantage of the digital media, we'll see some pretty cool stuff one day: higher production values, Second Life-style virtual worlds, more interactivity, HD, and Discovery Channel-type content that can better compete with live lectures. Right now, though, we are definitely on that second Innovator's Dilemma line where digital lectures only compete with the low end and non-consumption, the way maybe NAND memory used to.

Also, I agree that community is a big deal, and the number one thing we are missing to really take advantage of all the cool content that is coming out. (But I do think other video-based works, like Lost or Serenity or Star Trek, have been able to support both attention and community.)