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Weaknesses of Online Learning described on the Illinois Online Network website, 2012. It offers the unsupported view below that 20 is the maximum number of students that could be accommodated in an online class without losing the interactive elements. I disagree. Levels of Synergy Online learning has its most promising potential in the high synergy represented by active dialog among the participants, one of the most important sources of learning in a Virtual Classroom. However, in larger classes (20 or more students), the synergy level starts to shift on the learning continuum until it eventually becomes independent study to accommodate the large class. At this point, dialog is limited as well as interaction among participants and the facilitator. The medium is not being used to its greatest potential."

Jenny's blog post/learning artifact on questions to ask in designing a MOOC. Questions are useful for other learning enterprises and the MOOC image is delightful and amusing. Kudos to Jenny and her collaborators; very nicely done!

Redo of Wenger's schema on cops and levels of membership

The Future of Online Learning, Stephen Downes

Stephen Downdes' home website--has interesting ebooks/pdfs on Free learning, Access::Future, and so on

Blog by the Ed Techie --brings up implicit contract for MOOCs, --praises MOOCs for being an opportunity to explore ideas, test bed for one's own ideas --observes that online learning courses that have nothing to do with technology suffer from a divided focus as new online learners pick up the technology part of it, as technology becomes known, it recedes and main topic is elevated --finally, the learner has to make the connections because the facilitators and presenters don't do that for you