DIL solution for online courses

Wouldn't it be good if the teachers of an online course had access to a shared file, a central depository that could be added to and subtracted from by all those involved?
At Polytech, there is already such a system in place. What, for an online course would be useful is if those resources could be accessed from the internet by students. If the folder index, which would be readily transposable to blackboard or any html supporting page could provide access to html hyperlinked text, and embedded media such as progressive download video(better for slow connections) and audio, interactive flash files(*.SWFs), and of course images, the teachers and students could be instantly incontact through rich media without the need of a middle man to manage the preparation of files for the web.
But teachers can't waste their time optimizing video and audio so it will be accessible to the slowest backwater dial up trickle, that is why Utube and blip etc are so good.
But what a rigmarole it is just to get videos up and running on those web services.
With a shared folder the process would be instant, and with the right software autimated optimzing can be achieved reliably and with almost any format you can lay your hands on.
So now all your resources are in a standadised format that is accesible for the students through the html pages in which they're embedded.
The html pages can be composed as easily as you would a word file, "inserting" images etc. Inserting links allows you to jump around the resource, to develop multiple depths, digressions, curios, for the avid students, to jump to a glossary etc.

What would be on the web would be what is visible in your shared folder.
Version control would allow teachers to edit a file simultaneously, creating two versions, which could be concatenated as required. Editing a file would create a copy, with each amendations date and amendor visible. Control of what was accessible by students would be in your hands.

I wonder if teachers had a way to compile their text, and all their media in readiness for the web without having to upload files to blackboard or any other web service, infact, to not have to use the web at all inorder to make it accessible for the web,
if a shared hub for all course developement could be made to work?