Re:It matters only who. (Score 1)

I am a college professor, teaching both grad and undergrad. I use a software package with a tablet pc that records the entire session, including audio, and the students, on their own, have been downloading the lectures onto video iPods and getting to review everything in different settings - like in the coffee shop, gym, etc. I do not take attendance, and openly let the students know that they face no penalty for not coming in because I do not want to penalize them doubly, once for missing valuable class discussion, and two for being absent. Has it impacted attendance? Yes, attendance has gone UP! When I asked the students why they came in, they said (a) class was much more effective as a delivery mode than the recorded lecture, and (b) they came because they got to influence what went onto the recorded session. The latter was not something I was aware of till they told me this. So technology can work in ways unintended. And yes, as someone here pointed out, it does keep the troublemaker students away, as they are quite happy with the recorded material. So its a win in my case, big time. Overall, I think students are a lot more conscientuous and a lot less cynical than professors (or the public) think they are.