This article attempts to answer a number of questions about distance education, such as:

• What do we know about the people studying online and how does this impact online teaching practices?
• What are the ideological implications of creating a "facilitated learner-centered environment", one in which students allegedly take a more active role in their learning but where all social interaction is technologically mediated?
• How can the possibilities inherent in the technology of online education be freed from its instrumentalist, corporate-consumerist ideology and used for progressive educational goals?

Collaboration is seen as the way to move online learning away from the "consumerist paradigm". An interesting read.