---
# System prepended metadata

title: 1. Building The Story
tags: [forum]

---

---
title: 1. Building The Story
tags: forum
---

# Building the Story

**Executive Summary**

The time to learn has never been better.  Everyone is online and everything is online.  Two powerful constants are *change* and *learning*.

During the first half 2021 the NEAR collective chose to fund education initiatives with significant commitments. The community has responded well and the team has grown accordingly.

The plan for the second half of 2021 is to double down on what has been working, including:
- 150+ attendees of the NEAR Certified Developer program
- 20+ student demos on TestNet built in less than 1 week each
- 10+ certified developers awarded `NCD.L1v` status
- hundreds of questions generated and answers collected
- tens of hours of video lessons captured, curated and sequenced
- multiple projects in progress towards MainNet

To serve this hungry and growing audience we are generating new forms of reference material and exploratory products designed to inspire and  engage the community in a bright vision of the future. 

This series of posts outlines this vision in more detail with updates on team growth and development progress.

**join us ...**
- as a teacher
- as a student
- as a maker
- as a designer
- as a developer
- as a data scientist
- as a ________?

**... on our journey to ...**

1. **Build a Story** (this post)
2. [Build the Team](https://hackmd.io/@near-edu/buliding-the-team)
3. [Build the Tools](https://hackmd.io/@near-edu/building-the-tools)
4. [Build the Road Ahead](https://hackmd.io/@near-edu/building-the-road-ahead)

This is **part 1 of 4** in a series

---
```
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
```

---

# looking back, then ahead

1. See the writeup of **[2021-Q1 in Review](https://hackmd.io/@near-edu/2021-q1)**
2. This brief video looks ahead


<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**

Welcome -- developers, designers and NEAR enthusiasts interested in bringing new ideas and energy to inspire students and make NEAR easier to learn.

**inclusion**

Welcome -- developers, designers and entpreneneurs who speak English and another language natively and want to contribute to the effort of making NEAR easier to learn.

**integration**

Welcome -- developers familiar with web2 and web3 technologies, product designers and entrepreneurs to make technical and non-technical contributions that make NEAR easier to learn.


# education team

Education @ NEAR has many different customers. 

To serve the community we have focused in on 2 key areas of urgent improvement:

- significant team growth (from 1 to 18 people) in 90 days
- exploratory product development (from 0 to 10 products) in 90 days


## TEAM GROWTH

`from 1 to 18 people in 90 days`

**development**
- NEAR Certified Developer graduates
- Fullstack software developers
- UI/UX designers

**services**
- Teaching assistance and technical support
- Data science
- Videography


## PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

`from 0 to 10 products in 90 days`

The *products* in this case are software systems that capture developer attention along the learning pathway and direct it towards high value target for the NEAR ecosystem.

- 3 x **Certifications** -- structured learning experiences that award some **proof of learning**
- 5 x **Reference materials** -- tactical resources that **make it easier to learn**
- 2 x **Developer utilities** -- tactical resources that **make it easier to build**


## GUIDING PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES

Some of these elements were adopted directly from the devrel and nearcore teams.

### ***Northern Stars***

- Increase number of successful **apps on MainNet**
- Increase number of developers deploying and improving their **apps on TestNet**
- Generate and maintain content and tools for technical self-service -- to **learn NEAR faster**

### ***Objectives***


**Community-driven education**

- Increase number of NEAR educators
- Improve contract development onramp
- Partner with strategic educational institutions
- Maintain a comprehensive picture of the platform

**Ease of use everywhere**

- Streamline developer path from zero to hero
- End users should not realize they're using blockchain
- Onboard internal team members easily
- Onboard technology partners easily

### ***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 verified 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

---


# now what?

**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?

- **inspiration** -- do you have fresh ideas and energy?
- **inclusion** -- can you speak English and another language natively?
- **integration** -- will you make meaningful (technical and non-technical) contributions?

If so the join us! Earn by helping others learn NEAR today.