Is it possible to deny that online education will only get stronger? Still, it's always interesting to see what the experts think.

E-Learning magazine offers predictions for the trend of online education in 2006, and offers opinions on developments. It's an interesting mix of views, proving that the idea of ' virtual' learning will never be far from educators' minds.

Here are a few of the intriguing predictions:

"I do not have any brilliant predictions but I do have some high hopes for 2006: First, that the new year will bring an increase in high-quality research on e-learning; and second, that the design of e-learning environments will be based increasingly on scientific evidence and research-based theory of how people learn."
-Richard E. Mayer, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

"This will be the year that an American Disability Act lawsuit is launched against both a public and a private university system for 'access' discrimination caused by their e-learning offerings being not flexible enough for those with visual and other impairments. We will also see at least three e-learning courses in the sciences and engineering at a prestigious university that use the Xbox and/or Playstation as their courseware platform."
-Michael Schrage, co-director of the MIT Media Lab's E-Markets Initiative, USA

"As instructors and trainers continue to become aware of the power and ease of creation of things such as wikibooks, blogs, Webcasts, and podcasts, 2006 will spur an explosion of media-rich and creative instructional approaches. Audio and video will become more expected in e-learning. For instance, instructors will increasingly add audio books to student reading (i.e., listening) lists. At the same time, knowledge repositories and mobile e-learning will lead to a rise in personally selected learning experiences and even self-labeled degrees. Entire certificate and degree programs will be available from content in handheld devices such as an iPod or MP3 player. This will lead a boom in professional development and training opportunities."
-Curtis J. Bonk, Professor, Indiana University, USA

Agree? Disagree? What are your predictions for 2006?