Editing Lecture (section)

==History==
The practice in the [[medieval university]] was for the instructor to read from an original source to a class of students who took notes on the lecture. The reading from original sources evolved into the reading of glosses on an original and then more generally to lecture notes. Throughout much of history, the diffusion of knowledge via handwritten lecture notes was an essential element of academic life.

[[File:Rembrandt - The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|[[Rembrandt]]'s ''The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp'' (1632)]]
Even in the twentieth century, the lecture notes taken by students, or prepared by a scholar for a lecture, have sometimes achieved wide circulation (see, for example, the genesis of [[Ferdinand de Saussure]]'s ''Cours de linguistique générale'').  Many lecturers were, and still are, accustomed to simply reading their own notes from the lectern for exactly that purpose. Nevertheless, modern lectures generally incorporate additional activities, e.g. writing on a chalk-board, exercises, class questions and discussions, or student presentations.

The use of [[multimedia]] presentation software such as [[Microsoft PowerPoint]] has changed the form of lectures, e.g. video, graphics, websites, or prepared exercises may be included. Most commonly, however, only outlines composed of "bullet points" are presented. Critics such as [[Edward Tufte]] contend that this style of lecture bombards the audience with unnecessary and possibly distracting or confusing graphics.<ref>Tufte, 2006</ref>

A modified lecture format, generally presented in 5 to 15 minute short segments, is now commonly presented as video, for example in [[massive open online course]]s (MOOCs) or in programs such as the [[Khan Academy]].<ref>[http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html Daphne Koller, ''What we're learning from online education''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804030308/http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html |date=2012-08-04 }}, June 2012</ref>