There’s some pretty innovative stuff going on with education right now. If you haven’t heard about them yet, many universities are offering classes online for free. You don’t get credit but you do get a certificate, sometimes a grade, and (hopefully) some knowledge.

A local organization called Da Vinci’s Lab is working to deliver these classes at high schools across Central Oregon, in a guided and supported manner, for students who want an extra challenge. Some parents (myself included) might be a little skeptical since watching YouTube videos doesn’t necessarily seem like a good replacement for a teacher.

That’s where PubLearn comes in.

Geared mainly towards K-12 parents whose kids might encounter this model, PubLearn is an opportunity to test drive and experience this new classroom style. The backbone for the class session is a free online course offered by Udacity called “Intro to Physics / Landmarks in Physics”.

Even if you aren’t a parent but you consider yourself a “lifelong” learner – or if you are interested for any other reason – it’s worth checking out. I’m signed up and I hope to see you there.

PubLearn 2012
When: June 26th – July 31st, 6:30-8:30 pm  (6 weeks on Tuesday nights)
Where: McMenamins Brewery on Bond Street in Bend, OR
Cost = 0!

Registration:
There are two steps to registration:
1) Register for PubLearn
2) Register for the course, Intro to Physics: Landmarks in Physics (PH100) on Udacity‘s website

Questions:
Contact Kevin B. English at 541-279-6576 or KevinBEnglish at gmail dot com.

*Note: I’m pretty sure you have to buy your own beer, since the class is free. 😉