The DIY Learner

My guest today is Michael Crawford, the Chief Academic Officer of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative (ELI), where he drives the development, delivery, and curation of program curriculum and content. ELI is an education company dedicated to redefining entrepreneurship and helping to empower people through the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. Their curriculum, the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program, is being utilized at several community colleges and small business development centers, both in the US and in Latin America. Michael believes entrepreneurial thinking is what is needed in education today and feels that entrepreneurs have a mindset that allows them to identify problems in their environment, to take action, to test possible solutions, and then ultimately to manifest something that will provide value for other people.

Building upon more than seven years of facilitation and scholarship in the fields of psychology, education, and human development, Michael combines theory and praxis from multiple disciplines to ground ELI’s work in sound practice and research. Prior to joining ELI, Michael served as the Assessment Coordinator for Kauffman Scholars, Inc., a college access and scholarship program supported by the Kauffman Foundation, where he led all organizational data activities, including planning, analyzing, and reporting, to promote increased and effective usage of research and data across all departments. While there, he co-created and co-facilitated StartupScholars, an innovative internship program that connected companies seeking resources and high-school and college students seeking work experience in a mutually-beneficial learning and employment opportunity.

Michael has extensive qualitative and quantitative research experience, having worked as a Research Assistant at the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas, as the Project Coordinator for the United Way of Greater Kansas City Out-of-School Time Quality Matters Project in Kansas City, and as a Research Assistant at the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University. His writing has been published in academic journals and edited books, and he has been an invited speaker, presenter, and facilitator at conferences and seminars.

Michael earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science in Sport Psychology from Michigan State University, and is currently a PhD Candidate in Educational Psychology at the University of Kansas. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife, son, and dog. He also enjoys reading whatever he can get his hands on.

Guest Karen Francis shares details about CourseTalk.com, the world's largest source for student reviews of online courses and MOOCs. Karen serves as Executive Chairman of AcademixDirect, which acquired CourseTalk in 2013. Karen describes how CourseTalk is like “Yelp” because of the student reviews, which help people understand what a course is really like. She stresses the importance of taking a moment to ask yourself, “What is my goal?” before selecting an online course to take. In this episode, you will hear Karen’s thoughts about “completion rates” as they relate to MOOCs, and find out which providers have the most popular course ratings on CourseTalk. Karen is a first-generation college student who attended Dartmouth and Harvard Business School, later served on Dartmouth's Board of Trustees, and now works with online and for-profit educators in addition to more traditional schools; as such, she has insight into just about every corner of the education industry.

My guest today is David Brake, CEO of LRNGO.com, where learning meets the sharing economy. LRNGO is an open web & mobile marketplace where users in over 200 countries find experts and earn money teaching what they love, and exchange skills & knowledge with each other at no cost. (For instance: I'll teach you an hour of computer programming if you teach me an hour of graphic design, or I'll teach you a half hour of English if you teach me a half hour of Spanish once a week.) David is really passionate about learning, and he says, “Learning is personalized – it’s your story, and no one has the same path as you.” David is also the founder of Teachers 2 Go LLC, a company that creates win/win situations for teachers to earn supplemental income by bringing them to the location of clients. He is also organizer of two not-for profit community groups: the Houston Language Partners and Houston Learning Exchange.

Today's guest is Hudson Baird, the Executive Director of PelotonU. He and his team at pelotonu.org hope to build effective pathways for working students to graduate from college debt-free. In this episode, Hudson describes how PelotonU matches students with online degree programs at a variety of universities, based on each of their students' goals. They then help students put together a personalized degree plan and offer an in-person community where students spend several hours per week studying alongside a mentor and a cohort of peers. PelotonU also provides tutoring support if needed. Hudson Baird is an Austin, Texas native, and Vanderbilt graduate. His career began in international development before he began working in higher ed.

Today’s guest is Jenny Anderson, the Co-Founder & CEO of Celebrate Autism, a nonprofit organization that is leading the national conversation about rethinking what is possible for individuals with disabilities. In this episode, you will hear how Jenny’s brother inspired her to start Celebrate Autism, a non-profit that is empowering individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through providing entrepreneurial education. Jenny Anderson has worked in advocacy, education and equity for her entire adult life. Having a sibling on the autism spectrum influenced Jenny immensely and fostered a passion for working with those with disabilities. She is now at the cutting edge of educational innovation, fighting for creative solutions for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. In this episode, find out why entrepreneurship and autism can be a great combination. Jenny’s organization is interested in building a database of mentors, so if you are interested, please go to the Get Involved link at celebrateautism.com or email [email protected]

Shawn Drost is the co-founder of Hack Reactor, the leader in immersive education for computer programming, where he manages the Remote Beta program and the Last Mile's Code.7370 curriculum at San Quentin State Prison. Prior to Hack Reactor, Shawn was a software engineer, most recently at OkCupid, and a founder of several non-profit and for-profit initiatives. In this episode, Shawn describes the Rapid Iteration Teaching method that Hack Reactor uses and explains how “asking for thumbs” can be a very effective teaching model. He says Hack Reactor is data driven in everything they do instructionally, and they model a lot of their processes from the real world. Shawn shares what he has recently learned about homelessness, and learn why he has been really encouraged to find that you really can successfully affect change in giant societal machines. Shawn is most proud of the Code 7370 program, which is the first “learn to code” program inside an American prison. Hear Shawn announce a new scholarship opportunity, and learn about one of his earliest teaching experiences.

Today's guest is Nicholas Wyman, a speaker and an expert on applying real-world solutions to the challenges companies face in finding skilled employees. He is the author of "Job U, How to Find Wealth and Success by Developing the Skills Companies Actually Need," which explores educational options like professional certifications, associate degrees, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, online education, and soft-skills training that can provide the skills the employers are looking for. In our discussion, Nicholas shares some practical tips for new graduates, including the importance of networking and being organized. Nicholas highlights the importance of employers taking on the role of educator, and he touts Whole Foods for constantly looking for creative ways to retain and develop their employees so their skills really are out on display in their stores. Hear about his vivid memories of learning to cook with his grandmother and how that had an impact on him and his career path later in life. Nicholas is CEO of the Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation, which develops mentoring programs for corporations and places people in apprenticeships and training programs globally. He has an MBA and has studied at Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Today's guest is Nikhil Goyal, a 19-year old education crusader and author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student's Assessment of School and another upcoming book on learning, SCHOOLS ON TRIAL: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice (Doubleday/Random House, Feb 2016). During our conversation, you will learn which new learning trend excites him the most, and what he feels is the major problem with conventional education. Nikhil also shares some practical and easy ways all of us can take part in the education revolution. Goyal has appeared on MSNBC and FOX and written for the New York Times, MSNBC, The Nation, and other publications. He has also spoken at Google, MIT, Yale, Stanford, University of Cambridge, and others. In 2013, Goyal was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He is also a recipient of the 2013 Freedom Flame Award. He lives in New York.

In this episode, you will hear Darrell Silver, co-founder and CEO of Thinkful, describe their learning model for teaching software engineering one-on-one online. Darrell describes Thinkful as utilizing a passionate group of people who believe that to learn the best, you should learn from the best. He says that Thinkful is doing something that’s been done for thousands of years… which is an apprentice style of learning. Darrell shares some great advice for those who are thinking of taking learning into their own hands, as well as a special story that highlights his curious nature as a child, which continues to fuel his desire to continue learning things today.

Brad Zomick is the co-founder and Senior Director of Content at SkilledUp. He is a life-long learner and lifehacker. SkilledUp’s mission is to organize, curate and review the world of online education, with an emphasis on skill-based learning that helps people gain marketable, in-demand job skills.