I’ve always said that a surefire way to profit from web video is by using web video to provide educational services. Today we’ll look at a site doing just that.
The site is MyChinese360.com. It’s a startup based in Austin, Texas that teaches students Mandarin Chinese. Specifically U.S. students grades kindergarten through 12. Why would young students in the U.S. want to learn Mandarin Chinese? Easy. Because China is becoming a world leader in business and students who know the culture and can speak the language will have a huge advantage once the join the business world.
What makes this site unique is that all of the teachers are literally based in Beijing, China (and certified to teach in the U.S.). They also happen to be the best of the bunch when it comes to Chinese teachers…they are paid $18,000 a year by MyChinese360, vs. $3,000 a year, which is the average wage for a high school teacher in China.
All the teaching is done in an animated, virtual environment…where students can take virtual field trips and even create avatars of themselves. Students, in classes of 10 to 20, meet once a week with their instructor where they are guided through interactive audio and video sessions. Additionally, live interaction with teachers through video chat is included.
MyChinese360 was started with $500,000 in private investor money. The courses cost $600 per semester. It officially launched in September with 25 students. 1,000 more are scheduled to start classes in January. They expect 3,000 students by next September…and…20,000 in the following year.
And who said you can’t profit from web video?
To learn more about MyChinese360…see exactly what they offer…and exactly how they run their web video based business, click here to visit their site.
WOW!! As a homeschool mom, this is fascinating to me. It’s amazing that they’re able to pay off the initial investment within 6 months. It’s really got my wheels turning to see what I can provide or help someone else provide. Homeschoolers spend serious money on their children’s education and this hi-tech option gets more appealing as we all get more digitally focused.
Thanks for highlighting this site!
If you can’t beat them then offer them services. As we have seen our current state of our economy is because we have become consumers instead of investors. By creating products and services to China we can create jobs here in the USA to put our neighbors back to work.
One of the biggest producers doing the same in China is an expat named John Pasden of SinoSplice.com
With web videos, our educators can also be more effective and creative about their learning systems.
Video lectures can be accessed online in advance so that ‘classroom time’ can be maximized for discussions, clarifications, generation of new ideas, practical exercises—real learning rather than just passive learning.