The world of education is being radically altered driven by ever-emerging and innovative technologies, openness, and unprecedented access to knowledge. Older correspondence-style methods of instructional delivery are passé and “classroom adapted to the web” approaches to learning are often ineffective because they do little to harness the transformational potential of technology.  The Next Generation of Distance Education  addresses more cutting edge issues, such as:  e-learning scenarios  mobile technologies communication and information access personal learning environments  These domains  are quickly becoming mainstream, shifting control of the learning process away from institutions and into the hands of learners. This volumes promotes a forward-thinking agenda for research and scholarship that highlights new ideas, deep insights, and novel approaches to “unconstrained” learning. It will quickly become indispensible to anyone conducting research in the area of distance education for its innovative and future-oriented approach and its international focus.