In-person will always trump online learning (self-directed learning aside), but sometimes you get assigned an online class or a pandemic hits, and you have to make due. 

As far as monitoring goes, maybe off-topic posts could cost someone sats (or socs), and peers could moderate that.

I would also want to get away from the word count requirements that add to the perfunctory experience. 

ablunderfilledlife

Could a SN model work for an online class?

Hmm, I like this idea.  I'd love to spin up a private SN server for my class.  But I wouldn't use a fake unit of account like socs... I'd use real sats!

My only hesitancy is that with a small class of 20-30 people, engagement might not be very high.  And it's a burden for the instructor to have to monitor the conversations on the channel.  Moreover, in terms of peers learning from each other, in-person is still probably a better format than online, so you don't want to be rewarding an online-only format while not at the same time rewarding in-person meetups.
