I have found in my experience as a student, that there is usually a significant gap between the instruction provided in the class and the knowledge gained by the students in the class. The instructor rushes through a topic, no questions asked, everybody is speechless, and you see an almost entire classroom with blank stares. Sometimes a couple of"advanced" students make questions, which leaves the rest in limbo. What happens in the classroom? I think that in part is the student being afraid that his question is too basic to ask, and doesn't want to be put in the spot. I think that promoting a "chat" room after class hours, where the instructor can be available to answer questions and those answers are visible and available to everybody in the class would be a great idea to promote participation in the class and would be a great help in filling that gap in the classroom