Are Universities Going the Way of CDs and Cable TV?

Instead of requiring students to attend a one-hour lecture live, I can divide my lectures into five- or ten-minute prerecorded videos that are easier to download and access anytime. I can hold class discussions on text-based message boards rather than in a bandwidth-hogging Zoom room. I can’t solve the problem of digital inequality for everyone.

Another reason for the lack of disruption in higher education has been the absence of a disruptive technology. Since the time that universities first gathered students into classrooms, the learning technologies—lectures, textbooks, oral and written examinations—have remained largely the same.