From where I sit, the characteristics of a good classroom and course management are fundamentally the same as they have been throughout history. Only the format and the mode of delivery have changed--radically. As the "old geezer" that I am, I revel in the vibrance and vitality of the face to face learning experience. Yet, the online platform has given us a positive platform from which we can more effectively manage teaching. It gives us the opportunity to be more focused, with less distraction, on the task at hand. The one fly in the ointment can be the technological side when Murphy's Law pays a visit and everything that can go wrong does. Great technology without great teachers acomplishes little and, by the same token, great teachers without dedicated IT in an online format is about the same. (Voice of experience). The teacher and IT personnel need to be walking hand in hand for this venture. Life jackets on; then jump into the water.
