The use of distance courses in learning is growing exponentially. To better support faculty and students for teaching and learning, distance learning programs need to constantly innovate and optimize their IT infrastructures. The new IT paradigm called "cloud computing" has the potential to transform the way that IT resources are utilized and consumed in education and is expected to have a large impact on educational computing during the next few years. With its focus on helping distance learning administrators and practitioners to understand cloud computing and to make plans for successful cloud adoption, this paper provides insights into the adoption of cloud computing for distance learning, based on a thorough review of the literature about cloud computing. Implications and considerations for additional research are provided as well.