Teaching Life in the Age of Technology and the Internet

What do we value most about education that cannot yet be reproduced on the internet? I'm not talking about education in the sense that knowledge is just meant to be absorbed by learners in hope that they are able to pass the class test. I'm referring to teaching in which the learning is remembered long after it has been taught, whereby learners are able to understand not only that particular topic but a broader understanding as to how this topic fits into their understanding of what is important to remember.

In terms of pedagogy, which concerns itself with instantaneous, momentary and vital exchange that happens in order for learning to happen, this is what I am referring to above. It honours the experience of learning that is life-long, and that meaningful and sustained in the learners. That is what is missing in the attempt at creating digital pedagogy or even just teaching online and that is why the attempts of learning has been unsuccessful online. And for meaningful and sustained learning to take place, the teacher has to be present. Call me old school but I would prefer to be educated directly, experiencing the personality of the person who is meant to be my mentor and my guide, equipping me for tools needed for the rest of my life, I may be a tad over dramatic, but I speak from experience. Perhaps I am from a generation whereby the internet was not a part, an actual part of society, and I do realize that times have changed, I witness it everyday. I am a part of it! All I am saying is that if it wasn't for the physical presence of the teachers in my life and the way in which I was given the chance to banter, argue, joke and be educated and challenged by them, I probably would have lost all motivation to get an education. These teachers love to interact and engage with their learners directly as well, so maybe there can be a balance? Perhaps after school digital pedagogy activities by which the use of the internet can encourage further learning and understanding, but I do not like the idea of digital pedagogy online as taking over the role of teachers, because then what's the use of having them around besides the fact that they are needed to produce videos which can merely be reproduced?

Life is based on moments of experience, but experience that is physical, in the here and now and not in the world of technology. I am finding now more than ever that people are struggling to tell these two apart, and are being engulfed in a world that is not real, but a mere representation or even a distorted representation of the world in which they live. So call me old school, but the person that I am today is partly due to the memorable and meaningful friendships made during the interactions between myself and my teachers.