I know a med student who matched to a harvard residency. they said they always went to class because otherwise they couldn't pay attention long enough to recorded lectures. once they got on their laptop they get too distracted to learn efficiently. (I would also add that occasionally there are technical difficulties, and also some personal case discussions that prof don't want recorded)
we take classes in one of two rooms at my school, a real, mostly empty lecture hall (no windows). or in a lab that is cleaned only by students (so it's never clean, but it has nice windows) not fun sitting for 3 hour lecture after the class before was drilling and filling amalgams (imagine 200+ students drilling out amalgam with no suction or water) not the safest learning environment. Harvard dental takes their classes in a movie-theater esque room, but it's in the basement, has no windows, and attendance is mandatory. so some students complain that it's hard to learn for 8 hours straight everyday. it depends on the school somewhat, but I really think it's just personal preference. some ppl also feel lonely when they study at home
I am still a fan of online school. saves commuting time, and you can't get corona if you stay home. I think dental schools should "on-board" students with some online classes in the summer/fall before they start at school. that way they get some knowledge/classes out of the way and can focus more on dentistry, hand-skills, and socializing with peers. there are a couple of noteworthy graduate programs that started doing this and so far it's gotten really good results (sadly no dental schools have tried this that I know of) my dental school gave us a summer book reading assignment... taking us all the way back to 5th grade and ruining summer 🙁 the book wasn't even about dentistry