Last year, Professor David J Malan wrote an essay about class attendance and its declining importance in modern schooling. He says, “I daresay we’ve been nearing the point for some time whereby it’s a better educational experience to watch CS50’s lectures online than attend them in person.” But this year, he is encouraging students to attend his live lectures.
In this year’s CS50’s FAQs, Malan says, “Unlike last year, students are encouraged to attend all lectures in person this year; students with conflicts may watch later online.” Inside Higher Ed reached out to Malan via email about the change in ideology, to which he said, “Enough former students reported that something was missing, not just the students themselves but the energy of an audience, that we decided to bring [encouraging students to attend] live lectures back this fall,” Malan did state that grades didn’t change as more people began viewing class online, so what does this all mean?
For someone who may be looking for advice, mine is to go to class in person. It’s a motivator that keeps a student scheduled and on track, and when it comes to life outside of class, being in attendance keeps the need to finish online work from procrastinating into one’s social life. Go to class, pay attention, and get it out of the way; that’s how I made it through school.
(Photo by John Keane)
(Photo by John Keane)
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