However this approach is only adequate to A level or some first year courses where analytical thinking and research are not vital components. If anything it is less forgiving of poor practice. If online delivery is grabbed at purely as a cost saver it can produce a distinctly third rate product which will then be blamed on the online methodology. Support for such research skills should be seamlessly interwoven into course practice until they become commonplace. However they can opt to be observers without being as visibly non-contributory as in offline seminar exchange, and the moderator can use similar techniques to draw out quieter students as are used offline.
Larger discussions can develop sub-discussions which novices can find confusing.
This is comparable to the failure to supply an overhead projector or an unexpectedly locked door, delaying the commencement of an offline meeting. Online course delivery offers a powerful expansive potential to widen the pool of students from a local, to a national, to a worldwide base, opening up higher education to groups hitherto obstructed by restrictions of schedule, physical access or social disadvantage. Heritage institutions and major population centres are about to lose their leading edge as student selection will pivot more directly on quality of content and which scholars provide it. Participants' social barriers of class, race, gender, wealth, or personal appearance are radically reduced, thus releasing confidence and enhancing study performance. A rapid establishment of collaborative exchange is strongly facilitated, if the course administration is appropriately skilled.