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. In this environment, teachers become mentors and guides rather than the "all knowing" authority often associated with the traditional face-to-face format. In addition, new issues and challenges have begun to materialize from this new paradigm, prompting investigations related to the quality of online instruction:

engage distance students in their local communities through experiential learning opportunities.

provide community service as part of their academic coursework, learn about and reflect upon the community context in which the service is provided, and develop an understanding of the connection between service and their academic work.3

Consequently, cross cultural communicative competencies are increasingly important for mutual understanding and cooperation - how is that for some alliteration?

I am also keen on addressing the necessary skills students must acquire for the 21st century as outlined in the wonderful document from the Carnegie Institute available at www.p21.org (2).

Agency and activity are required to thrive in a semi-autonomous learning environment mainly distributed on the Cloud, outside the scope of institutional educational support. It was clear from the research that learners have their own ideas on what type of activities would suit them, their life styles and their confidence levels, and the majority chose to be involved in aggregating, ‘remixing’ and sharing of information, without getting involved in the creative production stage. However, the majority of participants believed that the creative production of digital artifacts by some learners, and the discussions that followed on the network, inspired them in the development of ideas and in their learning.

it gave people the support they needed to feel comfortable and connected to other participants.

y using micro-blogging tools and discussion forums, inspired and motivated people into creating.

Remember that learning is an adherent capability within people. You don’t have to put it in to people, you have to encourage it and bring that out.

“What have you got yourself into.  I feel overwhelmed! Can I pull this off? Should I drop this class? Is it worth it? How could I ever build an entire online class over the course of a summer? Is she nuts? ….Oh yes, she’s definitely nuts!”.

Access to education should not mean merely access to content

instructor skill in creating and managing interaction in online courses

rather, it should mean access to a rich learning environment that provides opportunity for interaction and connectedness

Information that conflicts sharply with what is already held to be true, and thus forces a re-evaluation of the old material, is integrated more slowly.

Adults prefer self-directed and self-designed learning projects over group-learning experience

Self-direction does not mean isolation. Studies of self-directed learning indicate that self-directed projects involve an average of 10 other people as resources, guides, encouragers and the like. But even for the self-professed, self-directed learner, lectures and short seminars get positive ratings, especially when these events give the learner face-to-face, one-to-one access to an expert.