It is easy to say - and surveys continue to reinforce - the idea that classroom based education is the best form of learning. As online technology improves, that will be increasingly less so, and as the savings to the student begin to improve, the classroom method will look less and less appealing.

Once committed to online learning, institutions will have to measure well against global competition. One factor in this will be cost, and it is for this reason the class-course model will be abandoned, as described above. And the other factor will be service. Students will want personalized, humanized instruction.

The Future

Today, and for the last century, education has been practised in segregated buildings by carefully regimented and standardized classes of students led and instructed by teachers working essentially alone.

In ten years, this model will be seen in many quarters to be obsolete, and a new model, where education is practised in the community as a whole, by individuals studying personal curricula at their own pace, guided and assisted by community facilitators, online instructors and experts around the world.

The educational experience will be rich and diverse, supported by interesting and engaging educational software, and enhanced by discussion and collaboration with people from around the planet.

Some instructors will form personal and supportive relationships with their students, acting as guides through the wealth of available material. Others will opt to become masters of their domain, acting as experts and resources, serving not only students but society as a whole.