Fuel prices and online education

I’ve seen a few dozen articles in the last several weeks about how high fuel prices are driving online enrollment in universities and colleges (see, for example, As Gas Prices Rise). In a surprisingly short period of time, we have moved from discussing the quality of online courses in relationship to face-to-face courses (this conversation was happening in the late 90’s, early 00’s) to seeing online courses as a critical contribution to meeting varying needs of students. No doubt, we’ll see a similar explosion in online conferences. Obviously, first preference is to meet others in person. And that will continue to happen in classes and conferences. The balance will shift, however. Instead of 100% being face-to-face, we’ll see that drop to 60 or 70% (completely random guesses). Online learning and conferencing is not just a shallow replacement. Interacting with others online is different than f2f- you meet different people, experience other cultures, interact with leading experts. It is a unique field in its own right. It is more than just a replacement of meeting in person. It affords different types (and quality) of interaction.