In an effort to leverage the potential of social networking and peer collaboration for its distance education students, Cegep@distance is experimenting with a special type of learning management system. This system, designed to support transparency among students , is based on the theory of cooperative freedom. The present article discusses the various considerations that went into the design decisions, on the pedagogical, technological and administrative levels. A key underlying principle in the analysis was to take into account the particular characteristics of the target population.