Thank you for inviting me to make a short contribution to this 16 th CCEM Stakeholders Conference and the theme of Learning Support, Materials and Technology. // I have prepared these remarks with my colleagues Paul West and Wayne Mackintosh, both South Africans. We shall use the time to reflect with you on the evolution of the technology of open and distance learning and the contribution of the latest technological wonder, eLearning. // It is helpful to put things in context so we start with a brief history of the parallel evolution of technology and open and distance learning (ODL). As a framework for examining eLearning we shall take four animals whose names have entered the language from various cultures as metaphors. Our title is eLearning in Open Learning: Sacred Cow; Trojan Horse, Scapegoat or Easter Bunny?