This text responds to an ever-increasing call from educators, policy makers, journalists, parents and the public at large for analysis that cuts through the hype surrounding the information revolution to address key issues associated with new media in higher education and learning. This collection should therefore be of value to those who are seeking a critical, non-commercial exposition of both the enormous opportunities and challenges for higher education that are tied to the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the development of distance education and distributed learning. The chapters are written by leading exponents, practitioners and researchers from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The collection spans national boundaries and reaches beyond the research community to relate to issues of policy and practice. Students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels should find material of value to courses in education, social policy, sociology, communication, information studies, instructional technologies, and computing and information and communications technologies. Academic researchers, and also a large number of academics and educational practitioners, whose careers are being shaped by these developments, should gain new insights about developments in online education and scholarship.