There is a dramatic shift in the tools that are used in today's technology-based distance education. While distance education is not new, there are new types of socially rich, mobile technologies that empower learners to be more in control of what they learn, when they learn it, and how they learn it. Students are taking more responsibility for their own learning and their approach learning is changing. More and more learners are choosing their own content and the methods by which they are accessing information. With the ability to "attend" digital lectures whenever and wherever, and with almost unlimited access to extensive resources that allow a student to challenge an instructors' knowledge, the relationship between learners and teachers and, among learners themselves, will change dramatically. Teachers are still considered the leaders of the "classroom" for the most part, but how they lead is dramatically changing. The methods that educators use to help students become active, engaged, life-long learners are continuing to evolve. In the context of distance education, this means continually innovating and changing educators' approach to personalizing education and making it relevant. Social media networks are creating possibilities for learning that did not exist 10 years ago; how they harness these learning communities and create the classrooms of the future that meet the needs of today's learners and society is still emerging. The impact of social media and Web 2.0 tools, and the potential of the ever evolving technology on distance education is yet to be fully understood, but educators must continue to evolve the use of these collaborative tools to ensure that what is being taught is relevant to the learner and can be applied in their real world.