Contemporary transitions in political and economic globalization are being used to press universities into becoming "transnational businesses," seemingly driven by a primary concern for marketing educational commodities. The neo-liberal politics driving these currents in universities are increasing the multiple online and offline networks. These local/global meshworks engage the labors of a small but growing percentage of the world's population. When the authors were writing this paper at Jilin University in China, they learned that many of their academic colleagues and students have limited access to a personal desktop computer, the Internet, and email. They must pay for timed access to their email accounts and for downloading attachments. They do not have access to high-speed data networks. A timer indicates how long it will take to open and send emails. Their offline education is being supplemented--but not replaced by ever-advancing online technologies. Key issues concern the millions in public taxpayer funds being used to fund the commercialization of the information technology industry. Such anxiety is compounded by the technological displacement of workers. In this paper, the authors foreground related dilemmas shaping the internationalization of education by teaching students at a distance.