Large class live instruction combined with peer group collaboration can lower the price of delivery by an order of magnitude, but is much more engaging than MOOC-style courses.

To summarize: On many MOOC platforms, the dominant learning modality is passive content consumption; there’s no interaction or real community; and there’s no time constraint. All this amounts to a tiny percentage of learners who actually follow through.

Education 3.0 created companies that were designed to replicate the social experience of college, a book club, or group class online. Part of the fun of learning a new skill is the social aspect, which is lost on 99% of edtech startups who think too transactionally and — dare I say — too efficiently.