As student expectations evolve and institutions invest in video at scale, one question is rising to the surface: Should physical classrooms remain the default, or become optional?
This live, thought-provoking debate brings together voices from academic technology, instructional design, and institutional leadership to explore the future of teaching delivery. We'll examine the real-world trade-offs between traditional classroom instruction and video-first models - through the lenses of student outcomes, faculty efficiency, and institutional scalability.
But this isn't just a philosophical discussion. We'll ground the debate in data from institutions making this transition, including the University of Washington (where 98% of students report video enhances learning) and Duke University (which saw 22% increased satisfaction with searchable recorded lectures). You'll hear practical insights on how video platforms integrate with existing LMS infrastructure, security requirements, and faculty workflows.
Whether you're pro-classroom, pro-cloud, or designing hybrid approaches, you'll leave with a clearer perspective on how video is reshaping higher education delivery models - and actionable strategies for your institution's path forward.
What you’ll learn:
- How student demand is reshaping choices between in-person and video-first learning
- Strengths and trade-offs of classrooms vs. video models, with real engagement data
- Balancing flexibility, equity, and rigor across delivery formats
- Infrastructure challenges: integrating video with physical and virtual systems at scale
- Faculty efficiency: impacts on workload and teaching effectiveness
- Strategies for hybrid models combining classroom and video learning
- Real outcomes from institutions adopting flexible approaches (UW, Duke data)
- Differences in lecture capture and archiving for classroom vs. video-first models