Do Something

Our schools, whether made of bricks or computer files, supply a stream of loosely connected facts and algorithms. You start a class with a list of topics to cover, you cover the topics, you take a test, and you move on to the next class to repeat the cycle. That's a good way to provide credentials, evidence that you've been exposed to a body of knowledge and may have caught a glimpse or  two of how to apply that knowledge to an actual problem, but that's not the basis for a sound education.

To get an education, the facts and algorithms need to be tools for developing a solution to a problem, convincing others that your solution is sound, and implementing that solution. This is not possible through passive learning from a book or participating in discussions about a topic. You must get engaged in a problem and flail around trying to find an answer. Random facts that were covered in a class suddenly take on new significance when understanding those facts becomes critical to solving a real problem.

Real problems can't be faced in a classroom. There is no easy factory approach to education that will provide the experience required to obtaining an education. You can't do it in a traditional classroom and it's not really possible when the traditional classroom experience is transferred to the online environment. The classroom homogenizes thinking, creates a bias for the "right" answer, and rewards conformity rather than promoting divergent thinking.