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Now, let’s face it, online education isn’t exactly new. Typing “online degree” into Google gets you over 58 million results. Besides the well-known University of Phoenix, there are all sorts of online degree programs that promise a convenient, high quality education. Yale and MIT have recently put many of their lectures online, and iTunes U and Academic Earth offer resources from many top schools. Last year saw an unprecedented jump of almost a million more students studying online, according to the 2010 Sloan Survey of Online Learning. What makes MAT@USC different?

When students enter the online “classroom” – whether on their iPad or laptop – they see a Brady Bunch style grid of live-stream video headshots of 10-12 students and the professor. During class, which is scheduled several times throughout the week, students can take notes, view slides, discuss questions on a Twitter-like chat pod, break into groups, or virtually “raise their hand” to answer a question. In other words, they can do most of the activities they would in a normal classroom. Only in this scenario, their classmates might be sitting at a desk in rural Kansas – or Japan.

But is something valuable lost without real face-time in a physical classroom? Some critics argue that education must be more than just interactions with a smart screen – it’s about personal connections in a social space. Sundt thinks that many of those concerns, while perhaps more relevant for K-12 education, don’t really apply to the typically much older students pursuing a higher education.

a development that astonishes some ed-tech experts since the device is less than 15 months old, and K-12 educators are traditionally slow adopters of new technology.

ith a battery life of eight to 10 hours and a weight of just over a pound, the iPad offers more portability and less startup time during the full school day than laptops or netbooks, while its screen size facilitates more flexibility using the Web and easier input than smartphones.

“Is this the best use of our funds, or is it simply a tool to engage and motivate our students?” he asks. “Of course, technology has that capability, but is that always the best angle?”