When AirBNB and Uber developed their respective platforms, they used intelligent design to overcome a key barrier: trust. They were trying to bring two strangers together share something very private: a home or a car. How could they use design to overcome trust as a barrier? How could they foster personal safety through sharing of information, a rating system, and common goals?

As online education becomes a dominant force in the education space, it needs to deploy the same intelligent design to overcome the key barrier consumers and educators worry about: engagement. How can online tools promote engagement in the same - or better - way that physical space can? How can we develop and deploy the tools to not just deliver learning, but enhance the experience in such a way that it expands the learning environment?