Economist.com is currently conducting an interesting debate. Panelists and commenters alike are weighing in one question: Does new technology add to the quality of education?

Over the past few months, I've written quite a bit about the usefulness of new technologies in online learning. But, I've also weighed in on the importance of the student / teacher connection. I believe that new technology has the potential of greatly improving the online learning experience. But, I also think that no technology can take the place of person-to-person relationships. A podcast can never replace a live question and answer session....but, making that session available over a re-playable live feed can have a lot of benefits.

What do you think? Is educational quality improved by new technology? Vote and comment on the Economist's debate page.