Online Education's Moment
Hey everyone,
Hello from Los Angeles, and welcome back to Future Glance!
It’s been a busy month – Cohort 5 of Write of Passage kicked off July 1st. Back in May, Write of Passage founder David Perell and I built a roadmap of 70 pre-launch tasks. We revamped the entire course curriculum, created a new marketing plan, and charted out every live session, demo, breakout room, and assignment with sticky notes. After weeks of hard work, the course launched smoothly.
Today we hit the halfway point of the course. This is our most successful cohort by far. We have 305 students from 30 countries around the world. New countries represented in this cohort include Saudi Arabia, Nicaragua, and Papua New Guinea.
Students attend live Zoom classes four times per week for five weeks. 214 students attended our kickoff call, and we’ve doubled our average live session attendance from 60 to 120 (other students follow along with recorded videos). The course forum is buzzing with activity. Seven mentor-led writing groups meet each week, and students are able to make connections through our course directory and direct messaging feature.
Since today’s class covered “How to Write Consistently”, tonight feels right to resume my newsletter after time away for the launch. Below you’ll find a sample of what I’ve done in the meantime:
Podcast appearances
Twitter speeches
Book review threads
Twitter threads
Podcast appearances
North Star Podcast with David Perell
A few weeks ago I went on David's podcast for an inside look at how we run Write of Passage, and to discuss the future of online education. We cover:
The two types of online courses
Our approach for designing an engaging student experience
How we started working together
Click here or the button below to listen. (90m)
Perpetual Learning podcast
I was a guest on the Perpetual Learning podcast with Suthen Siva. Suthen and I first met during Write of Passage Cohort 2 last summer. I've been impressed with the audience he's built in the past year.
During the interview we cover:
How to design a student-centric online course
How Forte Acadmey courses create strong communities
The massive opportunity in online education today
Click here or the button below to listen. (48m)
My writing
As part of my course manager role, I often write internal memos outlining upcoming decisions or new course design features. On Sunday I shared my longest memo yet (~2,500 words) with Tiago and David outlining thoughts on the future of the business. It’s still internal-facing, for now, but below is a short excerpt describing the current industry moment for online education.
Online learning is crossing the chasm. Students and dollars are flowing to online courses faster than ever before. Online education software has improved enough to offer impactful learning experiences to students: Zoom provides reliable video conferencing; Teachable offers enterprise-grade curriculum delivery, and Circle blends ephemeral chat with permanent forum discussions. These three ingredients produce a transformative online learning environment driven by engaged instructors and vibrant student community.
Covid has caused the world to suddenly move online. Millions of people have experienced online-education since March, either directly or through the eyes of a spouse, child, or friend. Our students no longer require an introduction to Zoom. Making friends online is normal. Any remaining online education skeptics are at least familiar with the concept.
Given this context, we’re in a unique position. Over the past several years, starting with Tiago, then with David, then with Will and the rest of the team, we’ve developed an effective system for designing, marketing, launching, and operating online courses. We have substantial marketing strategy, technical ability, and design experience. We have schlepped our way to this position through early risks, hard work, and iterating on feedback.
What I’ve published
I shared the speeches below on Twitter, then uploaded copies to YouTube.
Why Newspapers are Doomed (thanks to the “Smiling Curve”)
More videos:
The Great Flip (on Information Abundance)
What the Lincoln Douglas debates tell us about changing media
Book Reviews
A Life of My Own by Claire Tomalin
On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
The Pocket Guide to Action by Kyle Eschenroeder
Other Twitter threads
Image of the week:
David and me during our May Write of Passage planning. We rebuilt the course curriculum and added Friday live sessions focused on the mechanics of writing. So far we’re thrilled with the result.
Quote of the week:
"Do not lose time on daily trivialities. Do not dwell on petty detail. For all of these things melt away and drift apart within the obscure traffic of time. Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now. Now is the envy of all of the dead."
–World of Tomorrow short film
I’d love to hear from you. Just hit reply.
Until next week,
Will