There is no question that putting all of these lectures and knowledge online is going to change things. But I am also a big fan of what happens when a teacher and a small group of students get together in a classroom and real personal interaction happens.

via A VC: Online Learning and Higher Ed.

A challenge to solve would be to increase collaboration and connectivity between participants taking a course and make it as frictionless as possible. The mature age learners could learn more from the smart interactions and collaborations which crosses cultural and physical barriers.