I think that the whole concept of lectures is broken. Twenty years ago they were appropriate, but now we have YouTube and PDF files and Print-On-Demand. These technologies means that universities don't have to employ lackluster lecturers, but can instead create highly-crafted lecture videos (in the style of Khan Academy) and comprehensive lecture notes. Certainly these materials will cost a lot to produce, but they can be used year after year, with only minor corrections for the changing course syllabus.<p>If a university would create proper learning materials and drop the lectures, there would be a lot more time to have more discussion-based and hands-on learning.