This "Top 10 Trends of Online Learning" list, published by the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering's Distance Education Network (DEN), offers some promising news for future eLearners, most of whom include time-strapped parents and full-time workhorses. Perhaps the most exciting prospect is that more and more top universities will offer online programs, which blows the preconceived notion that online programs are inferior to traditional ones right out of the water.

"The perception of online education is changing, and we've seen explosive growth [in the past few years]," says Kelly Goulis, the DEN executive director.

While the trends are reflective of the positive direction online learning is taking, we asked some experts for their own observations to get a broader grasp of the concepts behind these trends.

Take a look...

The Trends

1. The use of mobile technologies will be commonplace and will truly enable "anytime, anywhere" learning as universities make their content downloadable in rich media.

Experts agree that a definite upside to online learning is its ability to offer anytime, anywhere learning. "Students will have access to many more classes," says Paula O'Callaghan, assistant dean for external programs at Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY), "and they won't be tied to a geographical area."

2. More top universities will provide online offerings than ever before. As brick-and-mortar schools prove that quality education can be sustained, the perception of online degrees will improve.

Most experts agree that online learning provides many golden opportunities to make top education accessible to students from all walks of life. Top schools including the University of Southern California (USC, Los Angeles, CA) and Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY) have been incorporating online learning into their traditional educational programs for years. Like most schools leading the eLearning path, they predict that more and more top schools will jump on the bandwagon soon if they haven't already. "We've been involved in online learning for 30 years," says Goulis, who has headed the successful online MBA program at Syracuse for the past decade.

3. There will be no "typical" distance learning student profile, as the Internet helps people overcome geographical barriers.

True, say our experts, although "there is value in the campus-based experience," says Jim Myers, head of global outreach education at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT, Rochester, NY). However, he points out, distance learning also begs the question: Do students develop the same sense of identity if they're never on campus?

To that, Goulis states that online students are offered access to the exact same social and on-campus activities as traditional students. "Online students can get tickets to football games and other social events," says Goulis.

While the social experience of online learning is still somewhat of a gray area, the academic aspect is not. According to studies such as the "No Significant Difference" by the Sloan Consortium, online students who communicated with their instructors while completing an assignment performed at the same level as on-campus students.

4. Distance learning will shift from a passive learning environment to an interactive in which students engage with the faculty and other students in real time.

Very true, say experts. "Distance learning offers more peer-to-peer learning, rather than relying on the professor as the expert," says O'Callaghan. "In a classroom, everyone is in a hurry ? online learning gives the opportunity to reflect and ask deeper questions," she adds.

5. Students will benefit from an increasingly extensive source of learning materials, as guest lecturers and other resources are archived each semester.

There's no doubt that archived material is beneficial to students, as it allows them to return to the content and utilize it when it's convenient for them. It adds to the "anytime, anywhere" aspect of online learning. Laura Collins, mother of two and Concord School of Law graduate - the nation's wholly online law school - can attest to this, as she often sat in her backyard after her kids were in bed and logged onto her laptop to listen" in on lecture given by many of the nation's top intellectual lawyers.

Aside from top lawyers, Laura also had access to lectures from literature great Arthur Miller, among others. "I've had plenty of lawyers say to me, ?That sounds incredible,'" she recalls.

6. More employers support distance learning.

While many companies have offered tuition reimbursements as an incentive for decades, online education opens up much more opportunity to continue that trend, says O'Callaghan. If the labor market gets tight, and employers want to retain their employees, tuition reimbursement will be used as an incentive, she predicts.

Beyond that, Myers points out, the more customized a program's curriculum, the better it will be for such participating companies. "[The content] is going to have to be tailored toward a company's own policies and issues," he explains.

7. The majority of distance learning students will shift from domestic students to those residing outside the United States.

While it seems that online education will expand international and remote-student access, that might not be the case.

"I question the extent to which international students will have access," says Myers. "There are export control laws and regulatory limitations that are restrictive ? we're struggling with what aspects of education are covered under export control," he adds. That means there may be unanticipated obstacles for international students.

8. There will be an impetus to create high quality virtual lab stimulations - rich learning environments in which those who can't physically access a lab can participate remotely.

Online students at USC can tune into lectures and seminars live via computer, so they get content in real-time. "The students can also interact live," says Goulis.

The same goes for Syracuse, where online MBA students participate in discussions and listen in on lectures as they are happening. "With online learning, students have access to [so much more]," says O'Callaghan.

9. Traditional business will use distance learning as a marketing tool to create a loyal customer base.

Experts believe many companies, including financial services firms as well as computer and electronics manufacturers, will soon place great emphasis on the development of consumer-focused "tutorials." Such eLearning-powered offerings will be designed in an effort to not only educate customers, but ultimately to establish brand affinity and company loyalty.

For now, it seems to be a top-down approach. Currently, companies like Charles Schwab, Toyota, even Heineken Beer offer employees university-type portals that serve as an online gateway to corporate training initiatives. Heineken University provide its workers with an interactive opportunity to "learn about brewing and the history of Heineken." The University of Toyota offers more than 400 courses to its employees, which consist not only of an electronic-based curriculum, but also a series of seminars held at different locations around the globe.

Similarly, Schwab Performance Technologies launched an interactive Web site that helps advisors troubleshoot common problems. The site also offers a range of educational tools including learning guides that help advisors with their software.

10. Distance learning is here to stay.
There is no doubt that online education is gaining momentum, and in turn, longevity. "I think [online learning] is an education modality that has incredible power," says Myers. "I buy into the power of distance education."

What does this mean for you?
"[Online leaning] is such a huge topic to boil down to 10 points," says O'Callaghan. Right now, traditional universities are in a period of transition, she says, as they figure out how to optimize online learning and incorporate it into the traditional classroom.

What is certain, says O'Callaghan, is that "being a passive learner won't be an option. Only the active learners will survive."