Only 4.6 percent of Chief Academic Officers agreed that there are no significant barriers to widespread adoption of online learning. Nearly two-thirds of the academic leaders cite the need for more discipline on the part of online students as a critical barrier. Faculty issues, both acceptance of online and the need for greater time and effort to teach online, are also important barriers. Neither a perceived lack of demand on the part of potential students nor the acceptance of an online degree by potential employers was seen as a critical barrier.

In a typical high school, learning communities are fragmented and isolated, if they even exist at all. It’s unlikely that any of us would label a typical high school classroom, with its characteristic five rows of six desks, limited access to information and conversation, a learning community. Very little interaction exists within the classroom, and interaction from sources outside the four walls of the classroom is generally non-existent-the classroom walls, in effect, are impermeable.

Posting, after all, isn’t about airing your own views. It’s about connecting, and the best way to connect is to clearly draw the link between their content, and yours.

When connecting online, it is more important to find the places you can add value rather than to pursue a particular goal or objective.