February 2012
4 posts
WatchJess wants a class on Hip Hop. If you’re interested, go ahead and set one up here!
To check out some of the rad classes Jess has taught and taken here.
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
– B.B.King
January 2012
6 posts
Introducing the HourSchoolBus
We’re happy to introduce our latest team member - HourSchoolBus!
A kick-off BBQ Bus Party is in the plan. If you’re in Austin on Thurs Feb 16, come meet the bus!
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more as to what we’re going to do with this small mighty bus. Follow @HourSchoolBus and we’ll keep you posted!
7 tags
HourSchool is heading to Ann Arbor, MI
I’m super stokked for this upcoming week. I’m headed to Ann Arbor, MI to attend the A2ReSkilling Festival and to meet all sorts of local makers, hackers, teachers, and DIY’ers.
The A2ReSkilling Festival is a pretty incredible event. We feel there is a great fit with this festival, and we’re excited to partner with them for this event and future happenings in Ann Arbor....
2 tags
Teaching your first class
Teaching your first HourSchool class is a snap. Really, it’s as simple as sharing something you’re passionate about with a few people who are hungry to learn.
Follow these 4 easy steps to get started:
1. Think of something you’re passionate about.
2. Think of how you’d share that knowledge with a friend. Would you tell them about it, show them how to do it, or have...
3 tags
Guest post by Phill Pappas
Things to think about when staring at the Hourschool website, and considering whether or not you are going to take a class or teach a class.
What am I going to teach?
Well, what are you good at? I make the best poached eggs out of anyone that I know, so I’m going to make host an egg poaching class in my kitchen, at home, class minimum three people, maximum five (my kitchen isn’t very big), and...
December 2011
5 posts
A few tips from one of our teachers
Emma, one of our SF teachers, recently gave us a bunch of great tips on teaching your first HourSchool class. We thought we’d pass them along to you!
1. Take time to figure out just how long it will take for all of your material to be covered. My first class went about an hour over time, and now I have a better idea on how to make things run a bit smoother so I’m staying on...
WatchPhill talks about his experience with HourSchool as the teacher of a weekly Boxing Conditioning Class.
The proof is in the numbers
Check out this great article from Good on “Why Stanford’s Free Online Education Experiment is Booming”
Numbers like this seem to expose the beginning of a shift in value. For too long we’ve put too much value on degrees and not enough value on actual learning. So that makes it quite incredible to see 160,000 students sign up for an online class for which they will...
November 2011
3 posts
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
– Malcolm S. Forbes
A recent teacher testimonial
I received this email last week from one of our first time teachers, Will (check out his blog here). Will had previously attended an HourSchool class, and this was the email he sent me after teaching for the first time:
Alex, Class was great! You should have seen it, 10 feet into running Ryan’s face just lit up, he had never run like that before, I think we unleashed a beast. Everyone...
It's not the method...
I read a fantastic article today in the NYT titled “My Parents Were Home Schooling Anarchists”, written by Margaret Heidenry. In it she talks about her experience growing up as a home schooled child in the 70’s. Although in her case they should probably change the term home schooled to world schooled as travel was a fundamental part of her and her families schooling adventure.
...
October 2011
2 posts
“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to...”
– G.K. Chesterton
3 tags
August 2011
1 post
A few thoughts from one of our teachers
A few days ago we had a great French Conversation Class. Afterwards I asked the teacher to describe her experience and to talk about her class. Here’s what she had to say:
Anybody in Austin, TX can be out every single evening and enjoy music, comedy, wonderful bars and movies, you name it! Yet, last Monday, six students who had learned through the HourSchool website that a French...
July 2011
4 posts
People are hungry to learn.
A few days ago we launched the first beta version of HourSchool. The response has been incredible, and we’re cranking furiously over here at the HourSchool HQ to get some of our new classes set up and to reach out and talk to everyone who’s gotten involved. One of the most amazing things, however, has been to see how hungry people are to learn. The submissions we’ve received...
A few tips for first time teachers
Teaching your first HourSchool class? Here are a few quick tips to help you get started:
1. Supplies: Do you need any props, examples, or equipment during class? Make a list and check it a few hours before class to make sure you’ve got everything you need and it’s ready to go. Do you need to buy anything specically for class? Don’t forget to factor the cost into your cover...
hello world... (beta)
Hello and welcome to HourSchool! We’re really excited to announce the launch of our beta site www.hourschool.com and we hope that you share our enthusiasm for peer-led learning. We truly believe that we all have knowledge to share and that learning from our friends and neighbors builds stronger communities, more confident people, and makes the world a better place.
HourSchool is a site...