Eilif Trondsen, director of SRI's Learning on Demand consultancy, chimed in that this paralleled the work of an early forum member, Doug Engelbart. Consultant Lance Dublin said his interest was in doing things we couldn't do before. For instance, Napster for learning. Stoll resumed his devil's advocate persona, scribbling in red ink over the points that Hsi had just made. Rather than reflection, we need gut feelings.
Community stifles creativity.
While Stoll held his contrarian stance, participants kept trying to defend e-learning. Many were starting to squirm in their seats and roll their eyes. Some looked for the proverbial silver lining, stating that sometimes online learning is superior to classroom learning. Eliminating biases of gender, age, and race apparently allowed the online learners to work together more effectively. Another anecdote illustrated that online learning is sometimes better for individual learners, especially in global businesses that must overcome language barriers, cultural prejudice, and learning styles.