I've enjoyed teaching the Skillshare class on Sustainability. I've learned a few things about the hybrid class model and I have shared them with the Skillshare folks. It's tantalizing to think about the power of teaching a class to 2,731 people at one time. But when I compare that to the power of teaching 75 people in person, the hybrid model shows it's weaknesses.
I need the real-time feedback from the students in the class. I need to see if folks are getting what I am saying or if eyes are glazing over. I need to know if I need to take another tack on the material before moving on. And I don't get that with a massively open online approach.
So my next class is going to combine the in person dynamic with the power of a massively online approach. The best thing to come from the hybrid class model is the idea of using google hangouts/youtube to broadcast the class to everyone. I am going to do that from now on.
I also like the idea of teaching a four part class with a blog post each week. I can build on that model too.
I am less happy with the discussions on Skillshare and that they did not tie into the discussions that happened on AVC. I need to figure out how to make all of that work better. It's obvious that a teacher (me) can't give real time feedback to 2,731 students. And I think leveraging the students to give feedback to each other (the disqus model), is right. So it's worth working on this model to perfect it.
I want to thank Michael from Skillshare for prompting me to write about Sustainability this month. As I said in my first blog post on the topic, I think Sustainability is a great model for business owners and leaders to take in thinking about the highest objectives of the company. If I have contributed anything to the way business leaders think about Sustainability, then I have accomplished my goals with this class.
I am going to postpone my final office hours which were scheduled for this evening at 6pm eastern time. Hurricane Sandy looks to be coming through NYC at that time and I don't know what that may cause me and my family to be doing at that time. We live right on the Hudson, at the border of Zone A. So I've got a few things on my mind today that fit right into this Sustainability theme. I will report back on a new date and time for my final office hours.
Stay safe everyone on the east coast today. Let's hope the hype is overblown. And let's prepare as if it isn't.
