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To think that learning requires teaching that is more than mere stimulation and titillation (¡°Make a class a haven¡±, Features, 18?September). With 10?years of online teaching, I have matured out of the bells-and-whistles approach in my online sociology classes by trimming back to only two short videos all semester, with our time spent reading, thinking and writing in what can be a?virtual sanctuary, too.

I?use the ¡°discussion¡± forums that are usually ¡°left to the students for free exchange¡±, not unlike the ¡°conforming¡± small groups in the classroom, but with one big difference: I?participate ¡°fully¡± and join the conversations, bust up the conforming ¡°me toos¡± and critique and challenge every student. This requires a lot of time. But the students learn and love it.

Richard Cronk
Via timeshighereducation.co.uk