---
title: education @ near
tags: outreach
---
# NEAR.EDU 2021-H1 :arrow_right: H2
The first half of 2021 has been a busy one for the Education Team @ NEAR.
We launched [NEAR Academy](http://near.academy) with hundreds of visitors completing self-paced challenges as well as the [NEAR Certified Developer](https://learnnear.club/courses/near-certified-developer-level-1) Level-1 program which saw over 20 student projects built within just one week of learning how to spell "NEAR for the win". We also grew the education team for the first time in NEAR's history with several people working on educational products and services.
See the writeup of **[2021-Q1 in Review](https://hackmd.io/@near-edu/2021-q1)**
And there's more on the way!
**Now we need your help.**
If you are interested in *earning* while helping other with their *learning*, please fill out this form:
:::warning
## [:moneybag: Earn by Helping Others Learn](https://near.org/educate)
:::
# doing what exactly?
This video adds context to the activities listed below:
<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0;"><iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/0ab12270ff144e76a880ac9ab7fc22ee" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;"></iframe></div>
## inspiration
Developers, designers and NEAR enthusiasts interested in bringing new ideas and energy to inspire students are welcome to contribute.
- **more examples**: create new and original content that highlight features of the platform including contracts and frontends
- **video guides**: capture video guides and walkthroughs of concepts and applications
- **student code reviews**: conduct code reviews of student contributions to help them level up while learning
- **learning tools**: help us build more tools for learning
## inclusion
Developers, designers and entpreneneurs who speak English and another language natively are welcome to contribute to this effort.
- **localized content**: translate content into your native language and help us promote it regionally
- **localized workshops**: translate our workshops and deliver them to your regional audience
- **localized technical verifications**: conduct coding interviews for NCD graduates in your native language
## integration
Developers familiar with web2 and web3 technologies, product designers and entrepreneurs are all welcome to make technical and non-technical contributions to our effort to teach people how NEAR integrates with the rest of the world
- **popular web 3 tech**: connect NEAR with other technologies like IPFS or Textile for example.
- **advanced components**: integrate some of our more advanced tech like [NEAR Indexer](https://docs.near.org/docs/concepts/indexer) and [SputnikDAO](https://www.sputnik.fund) into the curriculum
- **popular programming languages**: wrap our RPC API with a new library or adapter that helps your community engage with NEAR
---
:::warning
## [:moneybag: Earn by Helping Others Learn](https://near.org/educate)
:::
# so what else is happening in education?
Education @ NEAR has many different customers including, of course, millions of crypto-curious software developers who want to take maximum advantage of blockchain tech to build the future of the web.
## TEAM GROWTH
```csvpreview {header="true"}
date,teammate,role,origin story
April 2021,Hiba Mashfij,"Junior Developer, EDU.T3", via NCD
April 2021,Ozan İşgör,"Junior Developer, EDU.T3", via NCD
April 2021,Çağatay Soyer,"Junior Developer, EDU.T3", via NCD
April 2021,Anuj Duggal,"Junior Developer, EDU.T3", via NCD
May 2021,Jordan Madieros,"Videographer, Education",via Chad Lamon
June 2021,Jacob Lindhal,"Developer, Education", via Cameron Denis
June 2021,Ryan Mehta,"Developer, Education", via Josh Ford
June 2021,Ben Sayeg,"Developer, Education", via Mally Anderson
June 2021,Winston Robson,"Data Science, Education", via community
July 2021,Shashi Shekhar,"Strategic Partnerships, Education", via Shreyas
```
## PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Products are software systems that capture developer attention along the learning pathway and direct it towards high value target for the NEAR ecosystem.
### certifications
*Certification programs are highly structured milestone-based learning experiences that result in some kind of "proof of learning". This can be as simple as your NEAR MainNet account name in some registry or as sophisticated as an NFT certificate of completion that you can share on your social profiles.*
- NEAR Certified Developer Program [ v2 coming July 2021 ]
- [learnnear.club](https://learnnear.club)
- [github.com / Learn-NEAR](https://github.com/Learn-NEAR)
- NEAR Academy [ v2 released June 2021]
- [near.academy](https://near.academy)
---
^ NEAR Certified Developer Tracks
( https://github.com/Learn-NEAR )
---
### references
*Reference material (exluding docs and nomicon) are provided for the community and (whenever possible) run by the community after controlled handoff to a capable team committed to the success of the NEAR ecosystem.*
- NEAR in Minutes [ launching July 2021 ]
- near-in-minutes.com
- NEAR Topics [ launching July 2021 ]
- near-snippets.com
- NEAR Mezze [ launching July 2021 ]
- [near.mezzetech.com](https://near.mezzetech.com)
---
^ NEAR in Minutes rendering Hindi translation
( https://near-in-minutes.com )
---
^ NEAR Topics rendering search interface
( https://near-snippets.com )
---
^ NEAR Mezze rendering landing page
( https://near.mezzetech.com )
---
^ NEAR Mezze rendering landing page
( https://near.science )
---
### utilities
*Utilities are surgical tools crafted for the purpose of making learning easier for newcomers. These range from starter kits and visualizations to account management*
- NEAR Account Utils
- [Learn-NEAR / near-account-utils](https://github.com/Learn-NEAR/near-account-utils)
- `near-sdk-as` Starter Kit
- [Learn-NEAR / starter--near-sdk-as](https://github.com/Learn-NEAR/starter--near-sdk-as)
---
^ NEAR tokens being transferred during live contract demo
( https://github.com/Learn-NEAR/sample--thanks )
---
### platforms
*Platforms are community-facing systems for learning and growing together by taking advantage of the existing and incoming talent to the NEAR community.*
- NEAR University [ launching July 2021 ]
- [near.university](https://near.university)
## GUIDING PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES
Some of the following elements are adopted from the devrel and nearcore teams.
### North Star
1. Increase the number of successful **apps running on MainNet**
2. Increase the number of developers deploying and improving their **apps on TestNet**
3. Generate and maintain content and tools that will allow devs to self-serve and be successful
### Metrics
MainNet
- Unique contracts deployed on MainNet
- Number of builders on MainNet
- Number of active accounts
TestNet
- Unique contracts deployed on TestNet
- Monthly active developers on TestNet
- Weekly returning active developers on TestNet
Other
- Engagement metrics across all educational output and events
### Objectives
- **Community-driven education**
_Engage the community to scale educational efforts and drive innovation in onboarding_
- **Increase number of NEAR educators**
_Capture and promote expert instruction from internal teams while we train other educators. Examples of this in progress are Live Contract Review and Live App Review series on YouTube_
- **Improve contract development onramp**
_Developers are one of three legs of the stool we stand on: developers, end users and infrastructure_
- **Partner with other educational institutions**
_We must identify, prioritize and enable key educational partners in the ecosystem to make the most of teaching the world about NEAR_
- **Maintain a comprehensive picture of the platform**
_We have a large surface of innovation and are still growing. Sensemaking will remain a priority for newcomers and veteran community members alike. This captures "understanding the whole"_
- **Ease of use everywhere**
_Remove any hurdle between participants of the ecosystem and their goal_
- **Developer path from zero to hero is easy**
_We must capture the attention of developers the way Stripe has consistently done with immediately accessible examples and documentation_
- **End users should not realize they're using blockchain**
_We must deliver orientation and onboarding experiences that do not intimidate end users with technical jargon but instead focus on the value of web 3 by painting a picture of the future of 10 or 20 years from now._
- **Onboarding for internal teams is easy**
_We must attract, recruit and onboard the world's most capable talent to help us realize our vision._
- **Onboarding for technology partners is easy**
_We must support key technology partners with world-class documentation and examples to help them quickly plug into our platform and make the most of it_
### Key Results
Growth
- Increase the number of people teaching about NEAR
- Increase the number of people learning about NEAR
Engagement
- Increase the number of people earning certifications
- Increase the number of student demos on TestNet
Visibility
- Education team activities are communicated to all stakeholders in a timely manner
- Feature requests can be publicly tracked and prioritized
- Feedback is proactively collected from the community
---
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