Skillshare: Teach and Learn

Skillshare has landed in Philly and is kicking off next Tuesday with an event at the Fieldhouse.
Skillshare is a community where anyone can teach or take classes. The classes are all taught by people like you and me, in person - their slogan is "Learn Anything From Anyone". I prefer to describe it as "Share what you know" and that's what I'm hoping to get the opportunity to do.

Here are classes I'm thinking about teaching:

1. Hardcore Photoshop
   This may sound ridiculous, but Adobe Photoshop is a program that takes only days to grasp but many years to master. I've been working in .PSD layers for over eight years. I can share my tricks for keeping an organized workflow, UI design, color corrections, cutting out hair (go ahead, give it a try), photo retouching, best practices, etc. Also how to get these images to websites and print properly.
   
   
2. Homeowner Obstacle Course
   I know a lot of people that own homes, yet they have a hard time doing basic repair and upkeep. My thoughts are to set up a few small workspaces and show people how to fix leaks, replace outlets, patch holes, paint, etc. I would have to set up small areas for each exercise. In my mind, it's playing out like an episode of All American Handyman, but with more assistance.
   
   
3. Specialty Construction Projects
   This can be anything that's more crafts related. I've already created a pilot to gauge interest called Learn How To Build Café Benches. I would also consider Building Garden Planters and  Create a Rainbarrel for Stormwater Collection.
   
   

Here are classes I would sign up for in an instant:

1. Small Project Welding
   For my apartment, I have been looking for 34" bar stools. The only ones I can find are horrid looking and over $500. I'd love to learn how to weld so I could make my own. Learning how to weld would also allow me to incorporate it into my construction projects for railings, grab bars, and creative shelving.
   
   
2. Appraising and Buying Investment Property
   This one I would pay dearly for. I can run numbers on what buildings will cost to fix and what it will rent for, but that's where it ends. I'm always thinking of buying a duplex or triplex that needs some loving. I'm trying to position and educate myself on making the right moves when the right place pops up.
   
   
3. Grow A Rooftop Garden
   I've really been wanting to create a small garden on the rooftop of my apartment. Outside of buying some planters, filling them with soil, and burying seeds, I need some guidance.

Screenshot of my pilot class

Who's stepping forward to teach these classes? Currently, it has a very tech-forward following - the same people who use blogs and twitter. About 1/2 of the classes on NYC's Skillshare board are about Social Media, Web Design, Web Development, or Web Publishing. Philly's pilot classes are starting fall in line with this trend. It's early, so as Skillshare matures so will the course offerings

Here's why I see Skillshare being successful:
Over the past few years, everyone has been writing blogs and using Twitter and Facebook to build an online presence. There's so much noise and information floating around that info is digested and forgotten so quickly. Can you tell me a single Twitter post you read earlier today? The truth is anything being taught in these classes already probably has a Youtube How-To video...But that's not the point. It's all about personal connections and humanizing education. It's about getting back to the basics of person to person communication. It's networking done right. I'm ready to help this take off.

Build and Share...