Management expert Peter Drucker forecasts increasing demand for continuing adult education. Behind this growth, he says, is people's realization that they are just not keeping up with the fast-changing developments characteristic of today's society. They will use the Internet to upgrade their knowledge, says Drucker.

• He estimates that Americans now spend $1 trillion on education and training.

• Education in grades K-12 now commands 6 percent of Gross Domestic Product, colleges and universities consume 4 percent, and the current market for continuing education equals 6 percent of GDP -- and that sector is going to grow enormously, he believes.

• With 40 percent of the total U.S. work force earning their livelihoods utilizing their knowledge rather than manual skills, there is a huge potential market for continuing adult education.

• Online teaching will capture much of that market because it is time-efficient, cost-efficient and flexible enough that a student can replay the material if it is not comprehended right away.

Drucker says that online education will never replace traditional means of education. But it is a market worth potentially hundreds of billions of dollars.

Source: Peter Drucker (Claremont Graduate School), "Putting More Now Into Knowledge," Forbes, May 15, 2000.