I really enjoyed reading about the research and characteristics of successful online education. This chapter was intriguing to me because I resonate with it as a learner. In my experience, when the professor is engaged and excited, it creates a certain energy in the course and I am more willing to participate and thus, be academically successful. On the other hand, I have been in online courses where it is all lecture from the professor, very monotone, no group engagement or interaction, and I definitely feel as though I didn't get much from those classes. I felt validated from the chapter that my experience is backed by research.
I do feel like the characteristics of online learning mentioned in this chapter should also be emphasized in face to face classes as well to promote a sense of connectedness. It is also easy to get distracted and not be successful in a traditional learning environment.