This article by Morten Flate Paulsen on their Teory of Cooperative Freedom, gives a brief introduction on various theories in distance education and the influences that led him to develop his theory.
This theory argues two main pillars, the Cooperation between those involved with the use of CMC and Freedom, where the student can choose your route without being subjected to a rigid curriculum.
It also shows the six dimensions of the Hexagon of Cooperative Freedom (time, space, pace, medium, access, and curriculum) that educators should take into account in developing programs.

The Hexagon Of Cooperative Freedom: A Distance Education Theory Attuned to Computer Conferencing
Morten Flate Paulsen – November 17th, 2008
http://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/21/hexagon.html (Accessed February 20, 2010)