We are not as strong as technology’s pull. —A JUNIOR AT MIT, EXPLAINING WHY SHE CHECKS HER TEXTS DURING CLASS From what I hear, really good actors can actually teach really well. —ANANT AGARWAL, CEO OF EDX, THE HARVARD/MIT CONSORTIUM ON ONLINE EDUCATION, CONTEMPLATING THE SUBSTITUTION OF ACTORS FOR PROFESSORS IN ONLINE COURSES At MIT, I teach a seminar on science, technology, and memoir. Enrollment is capped at twenty students. The atmosphere is intimate. We read memoirs by scientists, engineers, and designers (one student favorite is Oliver Sacks’s Uncle Tungsten) and then the students tell their own stories. MIT students come from diverse backgrounds. Some have lived hardscrabble lives. During a recent fall semester, their stories were particularly poignant. One had escaped with his family from what was then the Soviet Union. Another had overcome deep poverty; there were many nights when he had no choice but to sleep in his car.
What do You think about Reclaiming Conversation (2015)?
