ABSTRACT
In an era in which diversity, fluidity and flexibility are its main characteristics (Greenslade, 2007, 2; Kristof, 2006), a discussion of the future of distance education needs to be about possibilities rather than predictions. What we can predict is that the demand for education will not disappear: it is structured into our future existence. A mass of under-educated people, an expanding population, major global crises and an expanding knowledge economy all combine to sustain a massive demand for basic, further, higher, continuing and lifelong education. This demand cannot be met solely in the world’s classrooms; even if there were enough classrooms, many people will be unwilling or unable to attend them to learn. In this sense, distance education is essential for the future, but the fluidity around educational terms and practices means that it is also quite possible that ‘distance education’—the term and its history-will be towed to the scrap yard. If so, we hope and expect that many of its useful parts will be recycled!
