Are Internet classes a viable alternative to the traditional classroom?

How do students feel about online learning? Here's an interesting opinion piece where students write about teachers in online education. Granted, they are all high school students, so their views on online education are limited and do not include the experience of students enrolled in accredited degree programs online. Also, unfortunately only one of the three writers indicates any experience with online education. Two of the three take the position that there is little, if any teacher presence, and while I'm perfectly willing to accept that is the case for the one student who clearly states she's in an online course, they of course use a very broad brush and declare that is the case for all online courses.

We need to not allow statements like that to go unchallenged. Unchallenged we provide tacit approval that such statements are accurate. We need to help folks understand that there are a range of approaches to online education, and trying to paint them all with a single brush is impossible.