The LearZillion Community: Bigger Than Any One Teacher

Today, I'm proud. Like, really proud.

Bill Gates just posted a piece about a  LearnZillion. His blog has 1.7 million readers a month. And, he tweeted his post... to 8 million people. Really proud.

But, I want to begin at the beginning, 6 months ago.

The Beginning

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard about the LearnZillion. It was a weekend in March, mid-afternoon. I was on my way out of Boston, NPR in the background. I caught a quick piece on about a new company working with teachers to create video lessons for elementary students. The moment I got home, I checked it out. I was blown away by how amazing the lesson explanations were. My first thought: I have to be a part of this.

LearnZillion.com

Turns out, they were looking for about 100 teachers to help create lessons. I put together a sample lesson and sent out an email with the subject, "Please Pick Me!" Like I said, I was really excited.

The next day, I got an email telling me that I was selected and that The Gates Foundation was bringing us down to a conference in Atlanta at the end of June. Wow.

TeachFest

I could feel the energy and enthusiasm from the minute I walked in. Eric, one of the co-founders greeted each person individually. He was the type of person that makes you excited to just be around. And, I thrive on enthusiasm so it was heaven. And yes, I do know how nerdy it sounds to call a conference where you talk about math and learning for 3 days, heaven; the first step is acknowledging that you're a total nerd and then it's all good.

The conference was awesome. There were outstanding speakers, a choice of workshops that made choosing just one really hard, plenty of time to work, and at night great food and celebration. Which is really important because you get to know people better when you see different sides of them. And these 100 teachers from around the country that I really wanted to know better! In short, I was extremely lucky.

The week came to a bittersweet conclusion; sad to leave, excited to get working. At this point, everything sounds grand and fun, right? Remember when Harry first learns he'll be leaving his horrible life for Hogwarts? You think that everything just gets better and better. But it doesn't for Harry and it didn't for me.

It was my job to outline a bunch of lessons, submit it to my math coach, get feedback, and revise the lessons before beginning the actual video. It turned into way more work than I could have ever expected.

The Hard Work Begins

I really believe in LeanZillion. These amazing guys and gals want just one thing: for every kid, no matter where they happen to be born, to have access to lessons that help them to be successful. So Kate, my superb coach, would always give me things to think about. I'd have one way in mind and she would ask questions that made me rethink about everything that I had spent hours planning. These questions would sometimes take me days to figure out how to answer. And that was just when I got lucky.

My very first attempt was a complete failure. All of those hours that I could have been out on the beach or riding my bicycle around Boston or hanging out with friends, I was spending in front of my computer. Now, imagine finding out that what you thought was good, just wasn't going to work. Tough, disappointing, frustrating.

I'll never forget the words that we kept coming back to that week in Atlanta, "Being a part of a community means being apart of something bigger than yourself."

Bigger Than Myself

Never, not for one moment, did I ever want to quit. I cared too much. I care about the LearnZillion mission. I know how good it feels to succeed, I want every kid to get used to that feeling. And if LearnZillion succeeds, it means that every single student who can click on a link can know what success feels like.

There were days that I was angry about spending so much time staring past my computer screen, out the window at one of the nicest summers on record. At the worst of times I thought back to the conference, to how excited and passionate these folks are, to how hard they must have worked at putting that week together for us. I thought about the chances they took when they left their jobs to make this work. I thought about how great this country would be if every student loved learning because it made sense, because it made them feel good.

(Meet Eric & Alix)

Everything I Had

In the end though- I failed. I was responsible for creating 20 lessons. I only created 15.

But, I poured everything I had into those 15 lessons. 15 imperfect lessons. Because, in reality, nothing is ever done, it's just due. Yesterday, LearnZillion launched the efforts of its new community. I spent hours watching other peoples videos. The resulting 2,000 outstanding lessons, is truly bigger than any one person's contributions.

Bill Gates; the person who laid the foundation for the technology; who revolutionized the world; who is committed to making it better; believes this is an idea worthy of spreading. I'm overwhelmed with pride.

I'm so proud of my community. I'm proud that so many of us didn't give up. I'm proud for the people who pout their heart and souls into this company everyday. I'm proud for the original Dream Team of teachers who set the original bar and always offered their guidance and support. I'm proud of Orly's Font 2.

And yeah, I'm proud of my work.

LearnZillion In The News:

Education Week: E.L. Haynes: A Force for Change

Getting Smart: LearnZillion Announces 2,000 Free Common Core Lessons from Top Teachers

New Schools Venture Fund: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Education