Instructor Subsidy To Cease on Dec 9

I started teaching a few days ago, I did it because I wanted to give back for all the classes I've been to in SL. This will surely reduce the amount of classes and quality classes. But having said that Lindens should still try to encourage education in the system even if it doesn't involve paying teachers.

From TuI and ASL I've heard that they will still try to make classes free out of the kindness of their hearts. Therefore I suggest the following:

1. Griefers. More control to the universities and teachers to handle Griefers that purposely disrupt classes.

2. Better class environments. Help try to reduce the lag at the schools, I'm sure you can provide better machines that can help reduce the lag to classes.

3. Access to Linden help. There are still teachers out there that love to teach. I hope that I'm one of them. But help us maybe special access to help with scripting or special lessons for us teachers to help us provide better classes to everyone. Doesn't have to be a large amount of time but some time to help us. (We want to learn as well!)

4. I would think for a reasonably complex class it could take 3-4 hours of a teachers time in preparation, then uploading of textures, etc... Maybe provide a subsidy on texture uploads for classes, or even consider paying instructors money for new class courses. This would encourage some diversity in the classes. I've uploaded a few $100L for classes already it just wouldn't sit right with me that I'm paying to help create a class for students.


Besides item 4 which requires continual money being churned out the other 3 items would help me at least come to grips with all the time I've spent creating and teaching classes.


Hope this gets heard....

Zara's Points:
1: A no-brainer.
Instructors are already being qualified before invites.
Give them kick privileges. Ban Instructors who abuse it.

2: I have sent some suggestions to Jesse to address lag issues.
This one is technically hard, but do-able. Give it time.

3: This may be handled fine by TUI, SLU, Ivory tower, etc. but these assets
(Class Materials) are more valuable to LL Sales than to anyone else.
I'm fine with privatization here, but I don't see why they want it!
Centralizing the IP and simplifying access for instructors
can only increase productivity in Public Education.

4: Also a no-brainer.
This is where SL takes ownership and spreads Classroom Materials.
I'd bet RL$ that LL does not pay when they update sky or ground textures.
They pay LL staff to produce commons. Education materials benefit SL
far more than they benefit the material creators.
They should be considered commons.


I'm sure that LL is aware that Instructors & Educators are their up-selling dept. The RL, paid marketing staff only qualify potential customers; only two things make the up-sale:

#1. In-world examples of content to motivate the newbies by inspiration.
Some residents learn fine on their own, or find their own personal mentors.

#2. Formal education - As in RL, artificially raises the proportion of the population
who become content creators. This is the cultural difference between developed
and un-developed economies. High level public education.


LL has the data - it is for them to decide if the IG was producing enough Content-Creators to justify the subsidies.
I dont have the info required to say whether they are right or not.


Regardless, Zara is correct.
Privately, we've said similar things as long as I've been here.
SL Structural enhancements could increase the production of Content Creators far more than the removal of the subsidy will decrease it. (Sorry, no time to improve that sentence)

The IG is a huge potential resource for LL. Subsidies kept it in existence, but if it wasn't worth it for LL, they need to fish, or cut bait.
- Either give up on #2, and accept a smaller, elite group of naturally gifted content creators
- or make Content-creator development a central function of SL sales & support.
That means giving the IG (or a group like it) Linden equivilency and making refinement (not just existence) of Public Education a LL interest -
LL has to co-opt & promote the best tools, & techniques on an on-going basis or those resources will continue to only reach the elite.

I can see the IG and Public Education thriving without the subsidy, but not without LL technical and administrative support.

People come out of RL trained that Public Education is free, and that video games don't require classes. LL needs to set the framework of SL to drive perception of education as a path to advancement, with certifications, unique resources, and authority, just like RL.



I've got to get back to my RL studying.
I hope that when I return, SL education has not fallen exclusively into a peicemeal private affair like corporate education in North America. That's great for refining the few, but does nothing to make economic participation widespread.

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the change. It seems clear from Jesse's remarks that it isn't about LL's economic needs, it is about SL's economy.

Subsidizing teachers via LL meddles with the economy like RL tax breaks for oil companies or subsidizing sugar producers.

By taking themselves out of the financial basis for education, they free the maturing SL economy to determine the value, price, motivation for training.

Teach for fun
Teach for profit
Teach to develop trust relationships
Teach to protect you and your community from bumbling new players
Teach to showcase your skills/products/etc.
Teach for the love of it
Teach for a paycheck from an RL institute in SL
etc.

or don't

One counter-argument: LL itself is one of the RL corporations that has good reason to fund education. Classes in SL help residents to become more proficient, and thus help user retention. More user retention means more revenue for LL.

We'll just have to see how this all plays out. I suspect LL is making a mistake with this change, but they seem to have made up their minds to do it; the proof will come a month or two after the education payments stop.

I'm hoping Jesse and Lucy continue to read this thread, so I have a few ideas/questions.
Assuming I can't afford my land to teach on after the 9th:

1. Are Linden-owned sandboxes able to be set as an event location for classes?
2. Will there be someone who can still offer education support (Jesse offering advice, contacts, grant resources, perhaps?) even after financial support is removed?

I'm one of many who will continue to teach for the pure enjoyment of it...provided I have somewhere to teach at. The lack of monetary support only means that you'll have to look at the same "me" for longer periods of time, until I come up with some other means of funding this SL addiction.

Hi Ipenda,

1. Yes, they should be. The two instructor areas at Oak Grove, 181, 170, 12, and the Pooley Stage, (Pooley 243, 14, 49) are meant for this purpose. If this is not working, please let me know.

2. Yes, we will continue to provide education support; mainly in the form of connecting in-world educators with each other and with developers, outside partners, etc. We will also provide access to SL documentation and resources as needed. Obviously, supporting education is beneficial to our business as well as the community. The only change is that the form of this support will no longer be monetary payouts but program development.

I will be posting an official announcement on our Blog within the next day or two announcing the end of educational event support as well as provide information on how we hope to move forward with this program.

In short:
-we care nothing about individual instructors, all we care about is the “institutions” whose presence sounds very nice in our presentations to investors. This dangerously sounds like the “we care nothing about individual users, all we care about is corporations” about the island fee increase.
-Removing another way for people to get some L$ without using their credit card to inflate our wallets is healthy for the LindenX and our wallets themselves.
What can i say… just awesome.

What I've gleened from reading all this...

LL says they will "set us [teachers] up" with other institutions and/or organizations, etc. to continue teaching. So these outside parties are going to hire people who play this game because...?

If a real life school or business comes on SL aren’t they are going to use their own employees? RL universities require experience and certification, right? And from my knowledge a lot of tech positions in businesses need massive qualifications as well (since most online communications and/or development is considered some kind of tech job, at least in the reality I know).

I don’t understand how LL is going to pull strings to get the SL teachers hired by these outside companies but I’m sure it'll be “astounding”.

-- Though I liked the no land tier idea or super discounted land fees for schools/teachers (so that they can provide quality education without having to rely on help with griefers and such teaching on public land).

Also in the chat someone stated running a sim on their own server, I say huzzah to that.