Happy April!
This month, I'm excited to announce that I am part of the inaugural On Deck Course Creators (ODCC) Fellowship. Our cohort kicked off on April 4th, and I've been able to connect with many incredible course creators in a short period.
As a result, I've had to split my time between working a 9-5, building Tutorpass, being an ODCC fellow and writing. It's been a really busy month!
I believe that the world needs better approaches to teaching and learning. In future newsletters, I’ll be sharing what I've picked up as an ODCC fellow.
Here's what I want to share with you this month:
Hamsterdam as a metaphor for building online communities: The story of Hamsterdam is one of the most memorable arcs from The Wire. The narrative imparts a valuable lesson about the various dimensions of the ongoing struggle against illegal drugs. Here’s my essay on how the Hamsterdam account also provides some helpful insight into building an online community.
Social spontaneity in online learning communities: Before being in the press for contested reasons, Houseparty was an overnight sensation. Millions gathered spontaneously with their friends to carry out their usual social activities on the app. Here’s my essay on how we can try to replicate this same level of spontaneity in online learning communities.
What will online education look like after the pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in schools being shut all across the world. Education changed dramatically with the much anticipated rise of e-learning. Here’s my essay on whether EdTech is on a soul-searching journey again, now that lockdown measures are easing.
How to explain things better in your online course: The difference between good and bad teachers is how they explain the theories and techniques that make up their subject. In short, if you can’t explain it clearly, you don’t understand it well enough. Here's my essay on how you can start explaining things better.
In case you missed it:
The Netflix moment for online courses: Over the last two decades, Netflix has been quietly transforming the entertainment industry with data. It uses complex analytics to answer high priority business questions. Compared to Netflix, online courses are still in the dark ages. Here’s my essay on how course creators could benefit from having access to similar real-time actionable insights.
Thanks for reading. Until next month.