Thomas Edison predicted early this century that motion pictures would replace textbooks as the principal medium of instruction. In a new study to be released today, the College Board cites that anecdote to warn that the higher-education community should employ a healthy skepticism toward those currently touting the virtues of the virtual, online classroom.
As colleges and universities invest in the latest computer technology to ride the early wave of euphoria over online distance education, the College Board study cautions that the trend could actually create barriers to higher education for poor and minority students.
