Avatar Teachers?

In listening to the lecture about avatars overtaking the classroom, I couldn't help but think how silly that sounds. In the case of a Second Life classroom, a professor would have to construct the "learning headquarters", which in its own could be pretty difficult. They would have to familiarize themselves with the program, and then be able to develop a classroom setting that is intriguing, but not distracting. That, in itself could present quite a challenge. Variations among what people find aesthetically pleasing could greatly impact the learning environment. Other problems are also raised. Even though the professor may be able to alter their teaching styles online to appease each individual student, do we really want the leaders in education to cater to students like that when it is completely different than the real world? What does this ultimately teach the students? Other implications are also risen. Attendance could prove to be an absolute nightmare. In that kind of setting, a student could be there, but not really there. In the traditional classroom, a professor can generally tell when a student has "checked out" of a lecture. But with a completely unexpressive, always smiling avatar face, how can you tell if the student is confused, or is actually paying attention. Not to mention the fact that a student can get up from their computer to make a sandwich in the middle of the "class" and not even be noticed as missing. There is also the problem of some students not being able to access the internet, the internet being unreliable (because it never is in the actual classrooms :) ), and the lack of a quiet place for some students to be able to access the class. With these problems, just to name a few, how can people take this new idea of avatar teaching seriously?