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Perhaps the advent of more and more online opportunities for adult learning have given rise tothe expansion of writing about adult learning facilitation. In short, there are more people doingit because they can.The literature cited in the domain of educational technology so far, and below, isuncompromising on the assumption that computers are a powerful tool for facilitating just thissort of learning."Course evaluation studies... typically find that students do at least as well in onlinecourses as in traditional classes. Students consistently show higher levels of involvementin online courses, likely due to the increased interaction with their instructors and fellowstudents via email and conferencing. Some students do prefer traditional classes, and thispreference may result in poorer performance if they are required to take an online course.It seems, however, that most students like online courses." (Kearsley, 2000 p. 50)"The communication capabilities of the Internet provide us with the opportunity to helpcreate the kind of educational environment we want for tomorrow's students" (Lynch, 2002p.2)"Human use of computing is vast and growing. Networked technologies such as theInternet and the World Wide Web have been called 'transformational' because of theirwide-ranging impact. Electronic networking creates communications across terrestrialboundaries, across cultures and on a global scale. Concepts of space and time arechanging, and of how and with whom people can collaborate, discover communities,explore resources and ideas and learn." (Salmon, 2000 p. viii)Dr. Pithamber Polsani (2002) of the University of Arizona would argue that to limit ‘it 39 ’ to thisalone - i.e. a tool - would be the equivalent of using a wheel barrow to protect your head fromrain whilst working in the fields. A wheelbarrow makes a good parapluie or parasol andenables the user to work sheltered for longer periods of time. Take it off your head however, useits power to shift produce and increase productivity and the investment in it begins to show fargreater returns. Similarly, technology is not, he argues, just a tool of education, it is the educatorof the future itself. This notion is extended and enriched in the work of many educational39 IT in the sense of Information Technology. The inclusion of the C was very important to add value to that whichwas already known about.110Simon Hughes Ph.D. Thesis (October 2012)