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From a students' perspective (I'm finishing up my master's degree) “deleted” is exactly how I feel at the end of most courses. I study a subject intensely for 4 months reading and discussing the topic with the professor and fellow students and then. . . it just stops. I go home for Christmas or leave to an internship and it's as the class never happened. I don't continue to talk to the professor or other students. I probably don't read more about the subject. It all feels very artificial.

I contrast that with my experiences learning something outside of class. There I study the subject over a period of years spending more or less time as my interest/needs ebb and flow. My learning never has hard starts or stops, I just learn when and what I need to learn as my situation changes.

In a recent paper Conan Albrecht and I wrote, we reframe the experience of a student entering a major and taking classes as a process of joining different “learning communities.” A learning community is similar to a community of practice. It is a network of people from experts to novices connected by the study of a topic. We call the “Open Learning Network” — Learning 2.0.

Another advantage to Learning 2.0 communities is they don't have to disband at end of a school term. Even the best classes often just hit their stride near the end of the semester. Each new set of students must start anew the effort of community building, culture sharing, and knowledge discovery. Online learning communities can span multiple years and become an increasingly rich source of experience and learning resources. Long-living communities develop a community memory that shorter-lived communities of learners don't develop. A professor teaching a class can point to discussions or wiki pages created in past semesters. Students are able to better prepare for class because they have access to the resources created by previous participants.

As each community matures, its level of experience and knowledge deepens. As students graduate and move into the workforce, they will stay connected with new students through the Learning 2.0 platform. The alumni's professional experience and the Learning 2.0 tools will facilitate invaluable informal mentoring between students and alumni.