<div><div class="yn-story-content">
                <p><em>The <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=112bk4f22/*http://mashable.com/tag/bizspark">Spark of Genius Series</a> highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=131useebq/*http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/Pages/At_a_Glance.aspx?WT.mc_id=MSZ_Mashable_posts">Microsoft BizSpark</a>. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=10v2d1bnb/*http://mashable.com/bizspark/">here</a>.</em></p>
                <p>
<strong>Name:</strong> <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=10rr044pv/*http://www.learnable.com/" target="_blank">Learnable</a></p>
                <p>
<strong>Quick Pitch:</strong> Learnable allows anyone to create and charge for online courses.</p>
                <p>
<strong>Genius Idea:</strong> Many schools have started to take online education seriously. By 2006, <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=11phvmcu9/*http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009044" target="_blank">66% of postsecondary learning institutions</a> included in federal financial aid programs were already reporting that they offered some form of Internet learning, and a <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=11ui89rqh/*http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html" target="_blank">2009 report</a> from the U.S. Department of education found that those students who studied in online learning environments performed modelstly better than peers who were receiving face-to-face instruction.</p>
                <p>
This is great news for people who are looking to work toward a college degree, but there are few affordable parallels for people who just want to pick up a skill. Where does one go for affordable online lessons on homepage design? Javascript programming? Guitar? the Irish Whistle?</p>
                <p>
For many, the answers can be found on YouTube. But these "lessons" are usually one-off demonstrations rather than consecutive instruction. They lack a community component, and provide no revenue to reward the teacher.</p>
                <p>
Learnable aims to create what YouTube lacks as an education platform. Anybody can create a course by bundling articles, documents and videos into consecutive lessons that students work through at their own pace. A Q&amp;A section attached to each course becomes its forum, and users can see who else is enrolled in the course.</p>
                <p>
Like a similar online learning platform called <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=10nvmgqca/*http://www.udemy.com/" target="_blank">Udemy</a>, Learnable offers an option for teachers to charge their students for lessons. Most lessons are priced around $20, and Learnable collects 50% of each student's fee. Students can see an outline of course content and a bio of the instructor before they purchase a course, and all courses are approved by the company before they launch.</p>
                <p>
Learnable was spun off from <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=10rhhli5c/*http://www.sitepoint.com/" target="_blank">Sitepoint.com</a>, a resource for web developers that hosts forums, blogs, and, yes, courses on web topics. But the new site, which enjoys many of the same investors but is a separate entity, aims to be more universal than the site it sprung from. Only about a quarter of the 70 courses currently being offered relate to programming or web design (and yes, the <a href="https://learnable.com/courses/irish-whistle-jig-ornamentation-25" target="_blank">Irish Whistle</a> is represented).</p>
                <p>
Whether or not students will find courses like Learnable's worth paying for, continue to rely on old how-to standbys like YouTube, or instead migrate to new (but free) learning platforms like <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=118gj8q1f/*http://mashable.com/2011/03/09/sophia/" target="_blank">Sophia</a>, is what will make or break the new platform. It may also shape how people learn from each other each other in the future.</p>
                <p>
<em>Image courtesy of <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=11ee52d7r/*http://www.istockphoto.com/mashableoffer.php">iStockphoto</a>, <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=11kujvc9f/*http://www.istockphoto.com/user_view.php?id=351711">sjlocke</a></em></p>
                <p>
</p><hr /><strong>Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark</strong>
                <p>
</p><hr /><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=131useebq/*http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/Pages/At_a_Glance.aspx?WT.mc_id=MSZ_Mashable_posts">
                
<em>The </em></a><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=112bk4f22/*http://mashable.com/tag/bizspark">Spark of Genius Series</a> highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=131useebq/*http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/Pages/At_a_Glance.aspx?WT.mc_id=MSZ_Mashable_posts">Microsoft BizSpark</a>, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/mashable/tc_mashable/storytext/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform/40673522/SIG=10uf4fn3p/*http://mashable.com/bizspark">sign up today</a>. 
                <p>
            </p></div></div><p><strong>Read more:</strong> <a class="rssreadon" rel="external" title="Get Paid to Teach Anything With New Online Education Platform   (Mashable)" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20110315/tc_mashable/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform" target="_blank">http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20110315/tc_mashable/get_paid_to_teach_anything_with_new_online_education_platform</a></p>