Coursera. MIT Open Courseware. Khan Academy. Educators, students, and investors from all over the world have mixed feelings about a new phenomenon in the field of education: online schooling.

As we look closely into online schooling options such as Khan Academy(now over ten million students strong), we already see the benefits of online education. Online options break down two of the most restrictive barriers in education-cost and accessibility. The entrance fee is negligible to participate in most of these online schools, meaning students don’t have to deal with a financial burden to pursue their academic interests. If online courses were to completely replace all forms of traditional education, it would save the state billions of dollars, as it has for many retail stores that now go online to find their customers. Students can also learn from anywhere in the world at the touch of a button as long as they have Internet connection. Students are also not bound by the typical prerequisites needed to take advanced classes, encouraging natural curiosity to dictate the pace of learning.

It has already been seven years since the creation of Khan Academy and other online courses, but these alternatives have yet to replace the traditional paper-and-pen schooling. In a world where traditional newspapers, snail mail, and libraries are being replaced by technology, we have to ask ourselves: What about schools? As the Internet pervades each and every aspect of our lives, will it ever completely replace traditional education?Although the benefits of online schooling are enticing, many critics are wary of replacing a fundamental aspect of customary schooling: interaction. Collaboration, communication, and teamwork would be lost in online schooling.

For the time being, we can expect traditional platforms of education to remain since online schools are too new, unregulated, and untested. The future of online platforms, however, is promising when considering other industries that now thrive online. So the question arises: is human interaction the strongest argument that advocates of conventional schooling rely on to support their position? If this is the case, then is it only a matter of time that technology will be able to imitate human to human interaction as well?and perhaps even replace teachers entirely.