'Brick and Mortar' or Atoms to Bits?

"Brick and Mortar" has become a code phrase for something outdated or obsolete. Brick and Mortar book, music and shoe stores have been hurt by Amazon, Zappos and other online retailers. But what about higher education? Is the brick and mortar campus about to be replaced by the virtual campus and online education?

Online education has been around for at least 15 years, and it has had as many failures as successes. But this NPR story indicates that some leading universities are finally becoming successful at getting large numbers of students into online classes.

Questions...

•Nicholas Negroponte of MIT Media Lab famously said all media will go through an "atoms to bits" transition (Chapter 3). What is this transition? Are we in an atoms to bits transition for higher education?

•What type of student--in what sort of situation--does online education work best for?

•What type of course could be taught effectively online? What type of course could not be effectively taught online?

•Will this make university brand names like Harvard or Stanford more powerful or less powerful? Why?

•What is the concept of "disintermediation" from Chapter 1? What intermediary will be disintermediated if an atoms to bits transition takes place in higher education?