The Internet is making the world of learning smarter — and more profitable, reports Fortune Small Business.
Students who took online courses scored an average 10% higher on tests than peers who received extra instruction face-to-face, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education that analyzed more than 1,000 studies conducted from 1996 through 2008.
That’s good news for eduFire, a San Francisco firm that provides Internet-based tutoring for entrepreneurs as well as students.
Founded in 2007 by serial entrepreneur Jon Bischke, eduFire offers low-cost live lessons via videoconferences and text chats. There are up to 200 classes per day, covering everything from conversational Spanish to the history of Iran. Students with similar interests can video- and text-chat for free. That, Bischke and his five employees say, is where much of the learning happens.
In September eduFire launched its Business Channel, featuring several courses in entrepreneurship. Sample classes include 10 Things You Need to Build a Great Company, by e-learning expert Mark Dowds, and former Google manager Niniane Wang’s How to Rock an Engineering Interview.
EduFire has attracted more than 50,000 registered users so far. Sign up is free; members who choose to take classes can pay per class or pay $29 a month for unlimited access. About 10,000 users have take a class in 2009.
Photo by eduFire.