This book 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 is 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 and the collection as a whole spans national boundaries and reaches beyond the research community to relate to issues of policy and practice.