Persistent technologies: Why can't we stop
lecturing online?

Stephen Sheely
Usyd e-Learning
University of Sydney

There is much in the literature concerning teaching and learning online that advocates using the online environment to promote interaction and communication amongst students. Despite this much of what happens in practice in this area is focussed on preserving and translating lecture materials to the online environment. This paper explores possible historical reasons for the apparent resilience of lectures. It also examines some of the issues raised by the persistence of lectures and some possible ways to address these issues.

Keywords: technology change, theory in use, educational paradigms, lectures, history