Confining or Liberating? "Teaching" Online

I've been teaching through distributed learning systems for more than 20 years, and in some ways I believe it is more satisfying for both me and my learners. For me the challenges lie more in the culture surrounding DL that in the design and delivery. Expectations of peers and supervisors (where are you? why aren't you in your office? teaching online is easier that teaching in a classroom, etc.), unprepared learners (if I can read I can take an online course), and supports that are not available 24/7 (systems upgrades are done on weekends, help desks that are only available M-F 8 AM to 5 PM). In all this time I hear consistently that DL is not as effective as classroom learning, and DL marginalizes students who are not tech savvy or who do not have high speed internet access. I don't believe it is a better delivery method, however I do believe that the affordances far outweigh the drawbacks. We should be introducing this kind of learning early in young adulthood so students have an understanding of the literacies required to be successful as well as experience with digital learning environments. Faculty also need to have the experience of being a learner in DL if they are to truly grasp teaching in this environment. Get liberated, take a leap and embrace the future.