The purpose of this article is to examine the foundational principles and practices of distance education for the purpose of understanding recent developments in the areas of online and blended learning. It is argued that mainstream distance education has not embraced the full collaborative potential of online learning. Distance education continues to hold to the principles of autonomy and self-direction. On the other hand, online learning practices in traditional face-to-face higher education are increasingly being adapted to support collaborative and blended learning opportunities. The question is whether the conceptual development of distance education has reached an evolutionary dead-end.