Set Your Own Price (even $0) on Wordmaster Courses
I told you I had exciting news!
I’m going to be straight with you. I hate being in business. I know that is very un-American. That’s the dream, right? Go out. Start your business. Make lots of money, right? But I’m a creative and an academic. I am born and bred to a different view of wealth.
I’ve had my dalliances with the profit motive. We’ve taken a few spins around the dance floor. I small fling, but no long-term relationship. I’m not saying it’s bad. Just not right for me.
Since retiring from the college where I spent 22 glorious years teaching without worrying about selling education like a box of laundry detergent, to do what I do best, I felt I had to create a business.
I’m “going out of business,” and that’s good news for you! I am taking a step of faith and changing my pricing model for Wordmaster Academy courses. What I’m doing is getting rid of any form of set pricing. You can take any of my courses with no fixed registration fee. If you find it valuable, you can click a link and pay what you can, even if it is nothing.
I know. It is a crazy business model. It’s definitely a leap of faith. Although being “retired” with a decent pension, I’m not worried about paying the bills. It is something I want to do. Back when I went to college in California, there was no tuition. I paid a $6.00 per term health services fee at the community college and $49 registration fee at the university. There was no limit on the number of classes I could take. When I say, “I paid,” what I really mean is my Dad paid. He scraped and saved on a sawmill workers salary so I could go to college.
I have been blessed. It is only fair that I bless others. And since this is something I love, I’m blessing myself as well.
I’m still setting up “Tip Jars” in each of the courses, but I don’t want to delay any further in letting my long-time readers and students know about this change.
Setting Up Your Account
If you don’t already have one, it’s easy enough to set up an account at Wordmaster Academy. It’s free and takes just a few minutes.
1. Go to https://wordmasteracademy.net
2. In the upper right corner of the home page, click on “Log in”
3. Scroll down to “Is this your first time here?”
4. Fill out the form.
5. You will receive an email, follow the instructions in the message.
Now, you have access to the site.
Course Enrolment
No, I did not misspell “enrolment.” That is how they spell it in the program. Apparently, it’s an alternate spelling used mostly in the UK. That’s how the program spells it. So, I’ll use that spelling here.
Once you get your confirmation email, return to the site and log in using the password you chose. If you did not get a confirmation email, check your spam folder. Sometimes these things land there. If you are still having trouble accessing the site email me, and I’ll add you manually.
When you log in, you will be taken to your Dashboard. This will give you links to courses in which you are enrolled and other information. You can configure the dashboard as you wish. There are several blocks you can add.
Since you are not currently enrolled in any classes, it will be blank. In the left column click on “Site Home.” That’s where you can add your courses.
On the site home page, you will find a list of courses and their descriptions. Each course includes a link to the course page and your enrolment key. The first time you click on that link, you are taken to a sign-up page. Enter the information and include enter the enrolment key when asked.
On your next visit, you are enrolled and do not have to enter the key again. The course page will have all your lessons in the middle column of the page. On the left side you can jump between courses and lessons within your course.
Most lessons have some content. It is usually text-based, but sometimes it will include video demonstrations of software. It will also have a discussion board where you can discuss your lessons with others. Sometimes you can learn as much from each other as you can from me. Finally, each lesson has an exercise. There will be a portal where you can submit your lessons in a variety of formats including doc, docx, txt, or pdf. It also includes image, audio, and video files. Most assignments will be text-based but in the cover design class, you will be uploading images.
I will provide feedback on your assignments either through the assignment portal, by email, or on the discussion board, depending on the assignment. It is probably good if you email me when you submit an assignment. I don’t always get automatic notifications from the system because they are confused with junk mail.
By the way, it is perfectly okay for you to share this with others.
I look forward to seeing you in class.