Fall enrollments are open. Time to think about going to college. It’s never been easier for most of us.

For centuries college teaching was all face-to-face. At first, professors read out very rare and expensive handwritten books; students scribbled like mad. Then the printing press made textbooks possible; the better professors explained what the students were reading. (The worst professors continued to read out loud; they still do.) Eventually, new methods and new subjects involved seminars, labs, etc.

After World War II, a lot of new students, new subjects and new teaching methods appeared. There were many first generation students (whose parents hadn’t been to college). Many others weren’t recent high school graduates. They were adults with jobs and families and lives, and couldn’t afford the time or the price of “conventional” higher education. Other means were needed. We used to call them correspondence courses: everything went through the mail. Things have gotten more sophisticated.

These days higher education comes to you in three basic forms. There’s computer-based learning, often online. The student interacts with the program, with more, less, or no contact with teachers. There’s face-to-face instruction, ranging from lecture theaters with hundreds of students to quite small classes. In between, so to speak, there’s mediated learning: you, your instructor, and fellow students meet onscreen, at home or at school.

Each has its advantages, and downside. Computer-based learning is usually well designed. It’s often asynchronous: the student works when she chooses. Unfortunately, too many students choose later, and later… Face-to-face means being there: interacting with others in an encouraging environment. But being there can be distant, difficult, expensive. Mediated is synchronous; there’s a schedule to follow, and subjects you can’t otherwise get near home. How comfortable are you with Skype, Zoom, etc.?

People like to mix and match the different forms. These days, in our area, you can mix and match at University of Maine at Augusta’s Centers in Lewiston and Rumford. A wide range of college courses are available face-to-face, or via Interactive Television, video conferencing, and synchronous and asynchronous online. It’s a great opportunity: enrol and take your pick.

Come September, David R Jones will be teaching American History face-to-face (six feet apart as necessary) at the Lewiston and Rumford Centers. He’s been vaccinated.