Skillshare is a community marketplace that enables users to learn anything from anyone. It aims to democratize learning by tapping into existing communities and networks. Contrary to the common notion that learning has to occur inside a classroom, Skillshare believes otherwise, appropriately quoting Einstein:
“Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
It was founded by Michael Karnjanaprakorn, a former product team head at Hot Potato, now owned by Facebook, and developer at Behance. The NY-based entrepreneur believes that real-world skills have more impact than traditional accreditation systems, which is the very essence of his project. He mentions:
“Our communities are filled with these people who are great at what they do, whether it’s delivering a fantastic speech at a conference or baking a triple layer chocolate cake. Our vision is to unlock this knowledge and allow people to share their skills with those who want to learn them.”
Skillshare is initially available in New York City, where the company is based. The people behind Skillshare have been collaborating with teachers in NYC to help them find a venue, create a class, plan their lessons, promote their class, and finally teach their class. Its goal is to eventually create a consistent learning experience in every city where the service is available.
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The lessons that are currently available are very interesting and it literally covers anything under the sun– from cooking tutorials, web design and development, travelling tips, board game strategies — there’s even a class on how to tie a tie. Classes range from around $10-40 per student but there are free classes as well.
If you have an amazing talent or skill to share, Skillshare encourages you to teach using its platform as a way to contribute to the community. As quality control, all lessons undergo a screening process before it is made available to the public. Listings for teachers are free but the service gets a commission for classes that charge tickets. Community guidelines, teaching resources, and venue guides are available in the site as well.
Interested? You can check it out by visiting the Skillshare website, Facebook page, or Twitter account.
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