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As an instructor habituated to working in a small classroom environment (max
25--often as low as 18 or 20), *enriched* by on-line applications, I find
the possibility of a 200 student lecture or an on-line environment as a
substitute for 3 hours in a small class truly alarming. Is this merely a
function of working in the American context?  Also, is there any pedagogical
rationale for this shift on line (as a substitute for being in class)?  I
can certainly see the virtual classroom as an improvement over traditional
*distance-education,* but I would hate to see it become an acceptable
standard. How could this possibly be a progressive move? Knowing all my
students' names by the second week of classes, seeing the expressions on
their faces, sitting down by their sides to discuss work in progress, and
supervising in-class collaborations of various sorts is at the heart of my
professional identity and dignity. Is this no longer a common ideal, worth
aspiring to and working toward?  I feel obsolete and I haven't even finished
the PhD.