[Irongirl1]

Until the Industry-very broadly, I'm including the Dept of Education, random course creators, gurus etc-in that description agree on a course of conduct, I don't believe we as a country will ever reap the full possibilities of online learning. Kids in poorer communities don't get access to the full range of courses that are available...and if you are buying courses for your own learning and run into the constant "we only sell to people we like" paradigm then it becomes obvious that the fractures are only holding the industry back. I've seen research from cos. in China and the UI is sleek and makes you want to investigate the courses and their providers. I don't generally have that feeling here. I look at every offering with deep-seated suspicion and I doubt that I'm going to get the results touted. The materials are generally short sighted (ie: not focused on context) and only focused on being the "shiny new thing." We need more than that...and they should all want a structure to grow within.