I was very surprised recently when a North Carolina State University student told me that he felt his online classes were actually more engaging than his on-campus ones.

Call me old-fashioned, but I didn’t see how that was possible.

So I challenged him to write a column for The College Fix defending his position. He did, and I’ve got to say it’s actually caused a bit of a paradigm shift in me regarding online education.

The NC State undergrad essentially explained all the ways in which he has been required to virtually interact in his online classes, citing forum posts, phone calls, video chats, interviews and surveys.

He also debunked common notions that professors are less available through online classes, or that students are more engaged in a course if they’re within four walls of a classroom.

He then cited several plusses of online education that have been valuable to him, most notably flexibility.

As I’ve watched over the years online education efforts grow more expansive with the advancement of technology and in the wake of the higher education bubble, I’ve been dubious of such efforts, concerned they were easy As or not a true replica of the classroom experience. Perhaps I’ve judged too harshly.

While the extra-curricular “college experience” cannot be duplicated online, kids nowadays have grown up in front of computer screens, and for better or for worse, it comes naturally to them.

Done correctly, an online class can be as engaging as a brick-and-mortar one for some students.