Technological advancement has really a great impact on our lives. It is evident in the field of distance education. It feels nice to hear that there is a developing alternative method for people to pursue education outside the school or college premises. Distant education is now widely accepted by both students and educators, since it is convenient and there are also various other benefits for both parties as well as the government and the business sector. But, there are some people who believe be it distant education, online education, or interactive education, can't beat or replace traditional classroom education, even if it be an indication of the globalisation and progress.

In an article, titled “Reflections on the Distance Learning Controversy”, by Andrew Feenberg has favoured the online education as one of the pioneers of distant program. His admiration for the purpose of such a program is so obvious, who said that “the virtual classroom was a place of intense intellectual and human interaction”. Yes, if we see it, the advantage of pursuing distant education is that knowing such method help a lot non-traditional students. And intense intellectual and human interaction can also be found in online education, because intelligent and smart students can be found anywhere in the world, regardless of their nationality and age, as well as teachers. Like, traditional classroom, online education can also shape students, since learning depends on how eager and dedicated students are.

Feenberg also said that “the quality of these online discussions surpasses anything I have been able to stimulate in my face-to-face”. With this particular statement, people may however have disagreement. Feenberg spoke of his in his point of view as an online teacher. But, this may not be the same to all teachers. On the contrary, Linda Sweeney in her article, “Guidelines for Being a Good Online Student” expressed her frustration in having students with bad learning habits who are to be kept reminded of their schedules. Here the main factor is attitude. Online education may have many problems with the attitude of instructors, students and administrators. Because, the quality of education mainly depends on how the both parties involved behave towards online education and how much importance do they place on the program. But, in the traditional classroom lectures, students and teachers interaction is vital in the learning process. Their personal exchange of information and views are the indications that both parties are interested on what they are discussing about. It is like when students make queries or clarifications on the lesson, which means that students are taking things seriously.

Classroom learning has the advantage of on-the-spot monitoring of those who are showing interest because the students and teachers are physically with each other at the same time and at the same place. Here, the checking the students' attitudes is immediate, which is a big advantage. But, this is hardly possible with distance learning, where teachers have to do time-consuming e-mail just to remind students of their schedules.