Reflecting on the elements of distance education of diffusion, Siemens (2009) discussed in his video the three possible elements that are creating more effective learning experiences, and giving distance education a name of its own. I selected communication as the element to expound on. Siemens' (2009) valid reasons for the growth of acceptance of distance education in our society are manifesting daily. More and more people are communicating online than ever before. I can remember how my daughter ran my land line phone bill up every month, and she also used more than her allowed minutes on her cell phone, but those days are long gone. She now almost always communicate online. This is just a simple example, but many people have chosen online communication rather than phone use. I talk online to my family, friends and "bill collectors" much more than by way of phone on any given day.

Some of the online tools that are available today to facilitate the interactions of communication among learners are: blogs, wikispaces, skype, etc. Siemens (2009) explained his version of what direction these innovations are headed in the future. He referred to the triple helix model of education, formed by universities, government, and businesses, to create a strand of interactions, in order to increase and equip our learners with online environments that will contribute to their educational experiences.