They won't destroy academia, but I certainly hope that they will destroy the "grand lecture" format. There is no point in having an average professor lecture painfully for 2 hours when you can have the same content delivered to you by an energetic, world class expert on a video that you can watch at any time you want, wherever you want and speed up, slow down or replay at your convenience.
The time and money saved by having lectures prepared on video can be spent towards more office hours, labs and workshop where the teachers and TAs can directly interact with the students and help them dig beyond the lectures by completing assignments and projects.
The University's job is to provide guidance, supervision (including for exams that give credit) and interaction with other students.
The time and money saved by having lectures prepared on video can be spent towards more office hours, labs and workshop where the teachers and TAs can directly interact with the students and help them dig beyond the lectures by completing assignments and projects.
The University's job is to provide guidance, supervision (including for exams that give credit) and interaction with other students.