the video media, along with telecommunications media like the computer,
are certain not only to change all aspects of our lives -- work, leisure,
education, health care -- but also to transform completely our social
relationships. One observer, in a popular book, has dubbed our society
"The Wired Society." ¹

The potential and promise of the video medium for disseminating
instruction at all levels were recognized by educators early in the
television age -- as was radio's same potential early in the radio age. In
retrospect, we can see that television could not have appeared at a more
propitious time for higher education. When World War II ended, higher
education in the United States entered a period of tremendous strain and
growth. Hundreds of thousands of men and women returned from
military service to civilian life entitled to the generous educational benefits
of the historic G.I. Bill. These, along with the many young Americans
who were not old enough for military service coming out of high school,
put heavy pressures on the physical plants and faculty resources of
colleges and universities. In a few years, too, the impact of the postwar
baby boom was to be felt.

Then, too, educators were feeling concern about the many older adults
who wanted to enroll part-time in colleges during evening hours. With
the flood of students of conventional college age spilling over into the late
afternoon and evening hours, how could all those adults, of whom most
were employed during the day, be adequately served? Exacerbating the
problem even more was a remarkable social phenomenon. Since World
War II, growing egalitarian feelings, present not only in the United States
but throughout the world, were creating strong demands for educational
opportunities for all adults, no matter what their status in life. Eventually,
the celebrated British Open University (BOU), which extensively
employs the electronic media -- radio, television, the computer, and still
other devices -- dramatically embodied one response to this demand. By
so doing, as we shall see, it stands as, perhaps, the greatest educational
achievement of the twentieth century.

Another response, of course, was to expand higher education facilities
and build new institutions all over the country. This happened during the
1960s when it was said a new two-year community college was opening

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