Virtual High Schools: The High Schools of the Future?

I know that this article list a whole bunch of advantages of having virtual high schools, and talks about successful programs, but the idea of virtual schools doesn't sit well with me. Maybe it is because I feel that real teachers are going to be useless and students will just be taught by computers and computers only. I truly believe that you cannot replace learning from a real life human and the best way to do that is face to face. I think about the the numerous class discussions I have had with my students and how they fed off each other. Yes you can have discussions online, but it is not the same. You can't easily feed off a comment someone made. Also written words are sometimes misunderstood. You can't tell the tone of a person from what they have written, and sometimes tones of voice carry the conversation.

I do understand that virtual classrooms offer opportunities that some students might not have had. They have the ability to take courses that might not be offered at a regular high school. But you have to remember that school is not all about content learning, but also the social education. If everyone stayed at home, when and how will they learn to social interaction.