Overview

Telecommuting, distance learning, and telemedicine are examples of a relatively recent trend that can be summed up with the term "teleworking." Teleworking involves the distribution and extension of work to locations outside of the traditional office environment. In the case of telecommuting, a company employee works outside of the corporate office, usually in the home or a satellite office set up for that purpose. In the case of distance learning, education programs are extended to remote locations beyond the traditional campus environment, making it possible to reach a larger base of students who would not normally be able to attend sessions on campus. In telemedicine, medical services are extended beyond the traditional hospital environment to remote clinics, the home, and to mobile medical service units and emergency response teams.

Teleworking provides a great deal of flexibility in how work is done and services are delivered. Instead of having to go to a central location to accomplish work or take advantage of a service, these activities can be performed or made available virtually anywhere. Even though the locations may be permanent, such as a remote classroom receiving a live session from a campus-based classroom, the underlying technologies can make the applications highly mobile. The portable videoconferencing equipment used in a remote classroom, for example, can be easily unplugged and moved from location to location on a scheduled basis.

The same arrangement can be done with telemedicine applications, where expensive diagnostic equipment can be moved from town to town in rural...