so long as the standard remains the same, I do not see a problem with online education. I firmly believe that my daughter's Calculus I class is better online than the comparable class would be at a large university. Her teacher is very committed to the learning process and responds to questions quickly. She has put a great deal of work into structuring the class, and I only regret she is not teaching Calculus III online (as of yet).
On the other hand my daughter's other online classes have been somewhat weak. I think she has done a very good job in them, but the teachers do not seem to be engaged to the level I would like to see. Her speech teacher seemed to check out for the last half of the class (she was having medical problems). The course was also mostly canned, based upon the textbook. I did think the content was good, and my daughter did four videotaped speeches (the last in front of about 40 people).
Of course brick and mortar is no guarantee of quality. My daughter's on campus Chemistry class this summer was split. The first half was taken by a very skilled professor who did an excellent job. The second half was covered by an individual who was not very good in Chemistry which frustrated my daughter.
I have done probably 20 online classes, and I have been happy with the instruction in them. They provide me an opportunity to take M.S. Engineering classes I would not otherwise have.
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