I have been asked several times to write paid blog posts and jokingly pointed out that well-known broadcasters, in Australia, had some ethical challenges which they dealt with poorly a few years ago.
However, I have decided to write about the American site Educator after David Fan requested my (paid) input. I closely checked out what was on offer and sought advice from colleagues. I also noted that Jane Hart has listed the site as one of her e-learning picks too.
Educator.com is a traditional tutoring site for students. The subjects currently available for students include mathematics, computer science, biology and chemistry. Mathmagic, where students can learn some useful techniques, via a collection of short clips, that ‘address common student pitfalls and reoccurring exam topics’.
Here’s a maths example and some chemistry which demonstrate that students requiring paid online support would benefit from the clear delivery of content.
David says, ’the educator.com experience is designed to recreate the live tutoring experience’ on the internet but it is important to note that all material is recorded and no ‘live’ opportunities exist to ask questions.
I note, if you are an ‘effective, charismatic and forward-thinking’ teacher who is interested in participating, you may see how to apply to be an instructor here.
FAQs may answer your other questions.
I’d appreciate your feedback about the Educator.com site (and any ethical issues you’d like to discuss about this post).
darcymoore
Hmmm this is not a cashforcomment – although love the tag Darcy!
This website is probably a good starting point for lazy web learners – however much of the material available on here is probably free somewhere else – if you look hard enough. I had an ex student doing computer science the other day tell me he learnt an entire subject from YouTube – as his lecturer was hard to understand.
Ethics okay as you disclosed. But why? This represents the last of the dot.com failures! Go the open source revolution. The future of online learning is in social collaboration – is it the new socialism? True equity?
I work with David on Educator.com and just wanted to say thanks to Darcy for the post and thanks to Simon for the comment.
I definitely understand where you are coming from when you say “lazy web learners,” but I think of them as students who value their time and seek expert advice. I think they would rather go to a site where every lesson is broken down and keyword searchable rather than digging through free sites where they can go through an entire video and not have their question answered. Also, a problem with free sites is anyone can upload “lessons”–some will be great educators but most will not.
Is it possible we become a .com failure? Of course. But we launched less than a month ago and are getting subscribers everyday. We are currently filming more mathematics and science courses to be ready for the next school year to offer an even better solution for students.
David and I believe in a revolution too, but we are going towards equalization of education. We hope that with Educator, every student can receive great instruction regardless of their geographic or socioeconomic constraints.
If you have any more questions or comments, please just post them here or email me, I’d love to hear from you. I’m also loving your StepByStep blog, you should start updating again!
-Eric Hung
eric@educator.com
Darcy, I\’ve been approached by educator.com and numerous others via email to plug their particular offerings and generally I hit the delete button without exploring too much. Unless a resource is recommended by a member of my PLN, then I\’m going to approach these offers with a great deal of scepticism. Plus I think I have to go back to why I am writing a blog? I didn\’t make that decision to be a broadcast space for other people\’s products – although I will happily recommend (and criticize) stuff I personally find useful. Plus I feel that my readership subscribe to my blog for my authenticity – anything that could potentially undermine that ideal is toxic. Plus my blog must serve my purposes , not someone else\’s.
Thanks for your commentary Simon, Eric and Graham.
I thought Eric\’s response a thoughtful one to Simon\’s challenge and a fairminded defence of his business.
Graham, I see the world as you have described and chose to make this (paid) post for a number of reasons when previously I have declined:
1. I have upgraded a couple of my WordPress blogs so I can upload video and the amount I was paid covered those costs.
2. I wondered what commentary would be made re: this issue if I did post a comment such as this one.
3. If I was studying Maths and struggling educator.com\’s format would have suited me personally (assuming I was prepared to pay money to be tutored). Check out the Maths examples and they are very clear explanations with good visuals.
4. I showed David what I would post and he agreed, even though I tagged the post \’cashforcomments\’.
Having said all this, I did (and still feel) uncomfortable for all the reasons Graham points out.
Darcy, thanks for writing this post, in a manner that I thought ‘fit the bill’ fairly. I also get approached regularly to support a product, and sometimes a few dollars are attached to that request. I have rarely supported a product as a result in my blog writings, though I have checked them out, and sometimes tweeted them. I have yet to come across a product I could support for ‘cash for comment’ as I do not write my blog for money. That’s what Jane Hart can do for all of us – once she has promoted a product we don’t need to go any further. However, our approach may change in the future – as you rightly pointed out, we do spend some money to improve our services. Anyway, I think your approach was a sound one, and one that we can all folllow should we decide to go down that path. Well done.
I was googling Educator.com and came across your article. I’m really glad you wrote it despite the things you worried about.
I was asking around friends for resources on Calculus since I have to retake it this coming school year, and one of them told me this Educator site. I looked at their videos for Calculus BC which were great and their massive syllabus fits nicely with my course.
However, I was still apprehensive about signing up. But after reading Eric’s response to criticism, I’m leaning towards subscribing when school starts again. I’m a fan of any company that cares that deeply.
Thanks for the comment, Tom! If you have any questions about our service or suggestions on how to improve Educator.com, please do not hesitate to email me eric@educator.com or tweet me @Educator.