As much as I love the online data science program I’m in, it still retains some of the drawbacks of traditional school. Namely, that new information about one’s particular genius cannot be applied right away. If I discover, for example, that investigative journalism and data visualization are the most important things for me to be working on, I cannot pursue those quests immediately without sacrificing the quality of my statistical learning homework.

What would education look like if the drive to move forward was externally boosted, but the learner charted the course?