College tuition has risen more than any other [2] component of the cost of living for the last 18 years. But in the Internet era, information is free and ubiquitous. To the extent education is a knowledge industry, it would seem to be ripe for completely disruptive change. Ideas like the Open Courseware Consortium [3], which started at MIT [4], point the way; Gaming, blogging, tweeting, open-source programming projects, information marketplaces modeled on Etsy, peer-to-peer tutoring that works like BitTorrent; all may have a place in--or REplace--the classrooms of tomorrow. That's the heady thinking [5] behind "Hacking Education", a gathering at Silicon Alley VC powerhouse and Twitter backers Union Square Ventures today, with thinkers like Jeff Jarvis [6], Danah Boyd [7], and Steven Johnson [8] all chiming in. Follow the discussion in real time on Twitter [9] today; the transcript will be up on Union Square Ventures [10] site by next week. 

Image: Muzzy Lane Software [11], makers of educational video games;

Via TheDeal.com [5]