The theory is that the organization runs more efficiently, and then there are more resources for instruction and services. At the end of the day, students will get the better deal, more value for their educational dollar. Things could be done that we didn't think could be done. For the first time, the educator is freed from the physical constraints of the classroom and from pre-set times for classroom and office hours. There are expanded opportunities for student-teacher interaction and collaboration, both within the institution as well as beyond the confines of a single institution.
Colleagues now write papers together remotely.
In fact, entire books are done via the Internet. All submissions, outreach, reviewing, and subsequent drafts, and right down to the final edits are done via the Internet. The changes and the challenge, the promises and the problems are at our doorstep. Societies throughout the world are being faced with unprecedented demands for new ways of living, working and learning. As information technologies facilitate new avenues for communication, the lines between formal higher education lifelong learning process are blurring.