Traditional Face-to-Face Learning Environments vs. Online Learning Environments

     As I see it, the online educational environment pales in comparison to the traditional face-to-face environment. In the face-to-face environment, students get to interact with each other, picking up on all of the nuances that body language adds to a message.  Instructors hold traditional lecture classes in which actual instruction takes place. Students can genuinely interact with each other and can question each other and the instructor in an immediate forum. The interaction appears to be more genuine rather than the compulsory, "Your-project-was-awesome..." reply that seems to be prevalent in the online student forums. If further clarification is needed, the clarification is also immediate. Last term, the instructions for some of the projects were so unclear, and the rules for the projects seemed to change day-to-day that it would have been a better learning experience for me, and less frustrating for me if I had been able to get all of my questions about the projects answered face-to-face rather than having to wait for email responses that sometimes were misconstrued.  This response is not a criticism. It is simply an observation, never having been previously exposed to online learning.
     It appears to me that instruction also lacks in the online environment. The role of the instructor is reduced to one who evaluates student-written papers and projects. This observation poses the question as to the need for an instructor when a syllabus listing readings, papers and projects suffices.  Certainly someone needs to evaluate these papers and projects, but to give that person the title of instructor is like confusing the role of a movie critic and a movie director. 
     The online learning environment benefits the students who do not need as much direction as students who need more direction. Perhaps these benefits are more available to graduate students who have a tendency to be more self-directed. But I know firsthand that I would not be as frustrated if I were able to talk face-to-face with students and instructors.