I think the thing that is most often missing from educational software (and most online course delivery formats) is the most important thing: motivation.<p>The teachers that I most fondly remember weren't the ones that taught me the most material, or ensured that I got the highest test scores. They were the teachers who inspired me; the ones who unlocked a deep curiosity and desire for learning inside me.<p>The current system doesn't care that much about motivation (although it is changing). You take classes largely because you have to. You learn so that you can pass a test.<p>Openness in teaching is a big piece of the puzzle, but it isn't the end of the road. In software, for example, I would argue that by becoming more open, motivation to improve was increased among developers (I don't want to be the one with the terrible code on Github). Of course, in software, the target of openness and the one who needs to be motivated are the same person; you. This isn't the same in education. Increasing openness among teachers will undoubtedly have an effect, but the customer for education isn't the teacher.<p>We are essentially circling the problem by saying "students aren't learning, let's change things around with the teachers." I think that teachers are very important, and I definitely don't advocate mass firings. I just really hope that we find a way to rephrase the goal to something more along the lines of "students aren't learning, how can we work with the student?" If this is teaching basic stuff largely through online methods and having teachers spend more time with students, great. If this is increasing transparency surrounding schools, great. Personally, I hope that some combination of better software that automates basic stuff and allows teachers to work one on one with students more often, more information, and more training will do it.