At first glance, looking at H1N1 as a possible adoption driver seemed tacky to exploit and otherwise fit the mold of another over-hyped reason to adopt streaming.   Most universities and corporations already had emergency response plans in place (many of which do include streaming) and, at first glance, I saw little reason why H1N1 would require something more or different.  So I reached out to several of the universities that had mentioned H1N1 as a catalyst for looking at streaming.  What I learned was fascinating and, in retrospect, logical.

When you think about it, the education field is in the business of delivering information.  At many levels, but most prominently at the graduate and post-graduate level, they often charge a lot of money for that information. 

For educators, H1N1 potentially presents irreconcilable obligations.  If a break-out occurs, administrators have an obligation to prevent afflicted students from attended class.  Depending on the severity of the individual illness and the outbreak itself, it is possible that students could miss upwards of a month of class-time.  At the same time, educators have an obligation (an often paid for obligation) to educate and to distribute the information that has been paid for. 

 To avoid having to choose between having to fail healthy students (by allowing sick students to attend class) and having to fail sick students by not providing them an education, universities are looking to streaming.  It is not an emergency response plan; it is a business continuity plan.  In the business of delivering information, streaming enables an organization to continue its business despite the possibility of an otherwise devastating H1N1 outbreak.