I agree with James Barzcz’s position that distance learning cannot fulfill the true purpose of education. Education, as defined by Barzcz, is the cultivation of intellect and character. Education can be defined as a continuous process of gaining new knowledge. Education is the process of acquiring new skills, both general and specific. Education is based on the interaction between the tutor and class, as well as among the peers. Online education can help students to enrich their knowledge, however, online courses take away the opportunity to ask questions and get immediate feedback, to listen to the ideas of others, to learn from peers, and to monitor the personal progress in comparison with other students. The drawbacks of online education undermine the key purpose of education: gaining knowledge in a specific field of study through interaction with others in an educational context.
First, education is the process of acquiring new skills. Undoubtedly, students may learn through direct participation in class as well as through online classes. The success of learning depends on the desire of a student to learn something new. The place of getting this new knowledge (at home in front of a computer or the classroom) plays a minor role from this perspective. However, studying in a traditional classroom, a student is engaged in the educational process by a tutor. For example, if the topic of discussion is not interesting, the teacher sees the reaction of the class and can quickly react. It is impossible to achieve this result with online education because the teacher is not able to see the reaction of his students and cannot adapt his assignments to it.
Second, education is about learning through communication with tutors and peers. Online education does not offer an opportunity for interaction among the students. It is worth mentioning that group projects and teamwork are not a part of online education as well. Nevertheless, the importance of teamwork is recognized by all educators: it helps the students to get basic social skills that are needed for future life. Students who pursue degrees online lack this opportunity and will face problems with cooperating with others while working on different projects in the workplace setting. Education is not only about learning something new from books, it is rather about learning from others, both from tutors and peers.
Third, education is about monitoring personal progress. A student learning online does not have a sense of competition which is a driving motivator for many people. This student will not see the need to perform better if his grades satisfy him. However, while studying in the classroom, students have an opportunity to see the achievements of others and see how these achievements are reached. Thus, he has an opportunity to learn from others and strives to improve his performance. The spirit of competition encourages students to strive for better results, to be the first, and to become the best. The spirit of competition is lost when a student gets his degree online.
Finally, education holds many purposes in addition to teaching students on a specific subject. Students, being the members of community and society in general, need to have an opportunity to interact with each other. Knowledge cannot be gained through reading only. If it could be, there would be no need in traditional schools at all. Knowledge is gained through communication between a student and his tutor, among a student and his peers. Education in the classroom creates a spirit of competition which fosters learning and promotes better performance. Moreover, education is about getting immediate feedback from the teacher, not in a written form, but face-to-face. Online education will never replace the traditional classroom because it lacks all of the above vital elements.