If properly implemented, the Electronic Classroom software will make remote lectures far more interactive and engaging. This will improve the educational experience of those who enroll in distance learning classes by allowing them to talk directly to the professor and other students. This computer interface between the class and the professor will also allow deaf students whom are physically in class to communicate more effectively with both their classmates and the professor.
By recording all of the lecture notes the professor presents, the software also makes an archive of the lecture, which the university may choose to publish. Although these recorded lectures might not be as useful to the student as the actual class, their presence still improves access to knowledge.
If the teacher uses it properly and effectively, the software might also improve the experience of those taking classes in person, particularly larger classes. This will encourage universities to have larger lecture sections, thus driving down the per-unit cost of education. However, this cost savings might cause university administrators to increase class size and lay off professors, thus reducing the overall quality of education the students receive.
Even if the university uses the software properly, the Electronic Classroom software has a few drawbacks. Since the software must be run on a computer, other applications might distract students using the software. In a lab environment, the computer systems can prevent other applications from running, thus greatly reducing this temptation, but we cannot implement this feature on student's personal computers. When implemented on lab machines, the software can prevent unwanted distractions by locking out other programs and functions.
The inputs and outputs to most computers are often harder to use than a paper notebook is for taking notes. Making drawings or sketches with a mouse is slow and tedious, and users often have trouble entering things like mathematics or chemical symbols by keyboard as well. A good design for text entry can reduce the impact of this problem, but not eliminate it. Additionally, most screens are harder to read than paper books and printouts. The software should allow students and teachers to easily print out notes and lecture materials if they want hard copies.
The software also adds an additional point of failure. Should the server where the backend is hosted fail, or if the students' and teachers' computers are unable to connect to the network, the software can't work. Since the teacher and students planned on using the software extensively in lecture, this failure is very disruptive.