We have tried the office, the bedroom and the living room. Like many other people, we are online with friends, groups, presentations and meetings. It is a cliche but it is not the same as meeting in person. I have heard of assemblies of 100 people or more on Zoom. I have only experienced ten or so but even that many results in tiny separate pictures of each participant. I can't imagine what it is like with far more.
I taught many classes online. I didn't have general education students, usually 1st and 2nd year college students. Normally, two years at the beginning of college for teachers are devoted to furthering general education and a year or two after that for the major area they plan to teach. Therefore, education students are more mature than early students and a year or two can make a big difference in maturity and focus. Much of my teaching was for experienced teachers who sought further education at the graduate level. Such students need very little guidance or motivation. At my school, they were seeking their master's degree.
Television, web pages, online videos are all handy methods of delivering information. Discussion boards, elicited and/or required comments by students can make a stimulating addition to online instruction. The instructor can still email or phone individual comments if needed.
There have been several cartoons about wearing pajama pants and a dress shirt and tie to attend an online session. It is fairly easy to slip into the bathroom or the kitchen and return to an online gathering. Or have a cup of coffee. And think of the wardrobe savings in work clothing!
Over time, advantages of Zoom, Meet, Duo, Hangout, Facetime and many other online multi participant software products start to stand out. More and more people are reporting that they like working and meeting at home. There is nearly zero travel time and gasoline use. No car accidents on the way to work, less wear and tear on the car and the roads. There have been reports of less air pollution and even less seismic vibrations into the planet. With the wide dispersion of the internet, friends and contacts far away are just as close as the people at nearby desks.
My favorite book about modern and semi-modern communication is Tom Wheeler's "From Gutenberg to Google". From the printing press to YouTube with the ability to transmit images with accompanying sound, we have more tools all the time to discount distance and increase valuable and energizing contacts.
