OpenCourseWare; distance education; access; new technologies The
role of distance education is shifting. Traditionally distance
education was limited in the number of people served because of
production, reproduction, and distribution costs. Today, while
it still costs the university time and money to produce a
course, technology has made it such that reproduction costs are
almost non-existent. This shift has significant implications,
and allows distance educators to play an important role in the
fulfillment of the promise of the right to universal education.
At little or no cost, universities can make their content
available to millions. This content has the potential to
substantially improve the quality of life of learners around the
world. New distance education technologies, such as
OpenCourseWares, act as enablers to achieving the universal
right to education. These technologies, and the associated
changes in the cost of providing access to education, change
distance education's role from one of classroo