Peter Elbow's belief and doubting game

Let's play with the idea that you can’t have a close-knit community in a distance situation:

Belief:
If you have ever had a long-distance relationship, where your significant other was in another state, you know that there are aspects of the relationship that do not survive because of that physical distance. Reunions may be more passionate and sweet, but it does not compare to having someone close by when you are sick or hear a strange noise in the house. So how does this apply to education?

Distance education may not permit much of the social interaction between students outside of class or during class. For instance, with distance education there is little time for small talk before class. If you want to meet someone after class, because you are interested in their ideas or need to get their notes, it is more difficult. Online classes have boundaries of distance, but also time. After class is over, is it appropriate to take someone's time, or are you infringing on their personal life? It is hard to tell remotely if someone is interested in talking more about the class discussion. Physical presence gives us a lot of clues about a person that they might not reveal about themselves over email. Presence allows bonding in ways that distance prevents.

Doubt:
With the availability of high-bandwidth connections in most cities and towns across the country, the problems with distance are becoming lessened. Web cam resolution has increased, allowing better pictures of students and teachers, which permits greater nuances of expression and meaning to be conveyed. Internet messaging allows students to connect outside the boundaries of the classroom and outside of classtime. Emails allow connections that don't interrupt the flow of daily life but permit quick response. File transfers and common website file repositories allow the transmission of large quantities of audio and video files that would have been impossible to send easily in the past. Websites like facebook and blogs allow the communication of ideas that do not pertain strictly to class but permit students to learn about the depth of each other's character and interests. Libraries are open at all hours and reference material in another country can be viewed without having to travel. Technology has opened up education and reduced distance to a trivial concern.

Resolution:
In case you are wondering, I love technology and the opportunities it can bring to education. We may all someday be teaching students who do not live in this country while they are taking our classes. How will we compete and meet the challenges in the future, that is the next big question about distance education.