I want to make an online platform that lets individuals build personal educational curriculum out of free (or cheap) lectures and workshops in their area. It would be a discovery and organizational tool that uses face-to-face, local resources to allow students to pursue highly personalized areas of interest.
The site would allow users to:
- Stay informed about the lectures and workshops in their area via email updates. The updates would be customized by the subscriber’s interests.
- Browse the lecture & workshop offerings by subject
- “Bookmark” lectures of interest
- Add bookmarked lectures to a personal calendar and create updates/reminders for upcoming events.
- Share your interests and picks with the EDU Junkie community
I have a passion for learning. Maybe it’s more of an addiction. In the last ten years I’ve window-shopped for every masters program in the tri-state area in subjects ranging from Urban Planning to Linguistics, Medieval Art, Folklore and Sign Language Interpreter. I even took night-classes in a Library Science program in Queens College—a time I still think of with sepia-toned nostalgia.
I eventually came to realize that I don’t want to give up my career and become a Medieval Art Historian specializing in obscure origins of a mystical Russian icon. I wanted to be exposed to fascinating (though not professionally useful) knowledge presented by experts in their field.
New York is teaming with free or low-cost lectures and workshops on diverse topics. Theoretically, I could get my knowledge fix by taking advantage of the numerous public events organized by the city’s libraries, museums, universities and enthusiastic private initiatives. But it’s tricky to keep up with everything going on. And what about the importance of like-minded learning enthusiasts to share and discuss with?
EDU Junkie will help casual learners find, organize, and share.