THIS week I attended an incredible conference in Potchefstroom at the North West University Campus.
The university hosted the annual Nadeosa (National Association of Distance Education and Open Learning in South Africa) conference and I must say that it was not only probably the best organised conference I have ever attended, but the quality of the presentations were extremely high.
The idea of this association is to promote life long learning and also to promote quality distance education.
At the moment there are only a hand full of institutions who concentrate on a distance education model, while there are quite a few following a blended learning model.
I believe that in the next few years we will see that most institutions like universities and even schools will increase the online components of their teaching and in some cases have a pure online model.
The fact that prices for Internet access is continuing to go down and also the fact that we can access the web on our cellphones, will make it easy to have access to information at an affordable price.
Having to pay for accommodation far away from home to be able to attend an university will not be necessary as you will be able to easily study at any institution you want through the Internet.
Yes it can be done at the moment, but I believe that most of the institutions will offer this possibility in the near future.
Virtual campuses and online courses will make access to learning possible for all.
I believe we are entering a very exciting time in education and there are great innovations on the horizon for us to experiment with and enhance the learning experiences of our communities.