Hi Allison,
I have been following the discussions via email and not responding due to an overloaded online schedule. I must say the discussions are very thought provoking and relevant to educators, the community, parents, and students. I would like to relate to Allison's observation that "the greatest hurdle many students face is keeping track of and understanding vocabulary". K-12 and higher education teachers in Israel seem to be very concerned about students' lack of language skills as a hurdle to understanding the material and test questions. It is as if students and teachers speak two different languages. We need to either learn students' vocabulary and teach in our students' language or teach them ours. I believe online courses may be effective in helping students improve their language skills. I would organize such courses on one of my Moodle sites for free. Anyone interested in joining me?