How to Become a Guest Teacher at Treehouse, Woodworking, and Bibiliophilia with Elizabeth Kozup

Hi, I'm Craig. 0:00 Welcome to the Treehouse Show. 0:01 The Treehouse Show is our weekly conversation with the Treehouse Community. 0:02 [SOUND] In this episode, we'll be talking about guest 0:05 teaching with project manager, Elizabeth Kozup. 0:10 Thank you so much for being on the show today, Elizabeth. 0:15 >> Thanks for having me, Craig. 0:18 >> I was wondering if we could talk a bit 0:19 to the students about guest teaching and what that means. 0:22 >> We have nine or ten full-time teachers here at Treehouse. 0:25 But there is a lot of technology out there, and we teach a lot of it. 0:29 And not all of it can be taught by our internal teachers. 0:33 So what I do is when they determine that, we want to teach a course. 0:37 I look for subject matter experts to create that course. 0:43 And then I basically manage the project 0:48 from inception to execution when we launch. 0:51 >> That's awesome. 0:54 >> Yeah. >> How do you go about finding them? 0:55 >> Wow, so there's a lot of different ways. 0:58 First of all, word of mouth is great. 0:59 >> Okay. 1:01 >> The Treehouse team has a lot of, that's a really wide variety of experiences and 1:02 people that work in different areas. 1:07 So I get a lot of recommendations from internal members. 1:10 >> Yeah. 1:12 But I also go and look at who's speaking at conferences, and 1:13 I look at who's speaking at a local meet up. 1:18 I spend a lot of time on Twitter and Stack Overflow. 1:21 >> Okay. >> To see who's answering questions. 1:24 There's a lot of different ways that I look for people. 1:26 >> Awesome, if somebody at home is watching this and like, wow, 1:29 I can do that? 1:32 I can teach in Treehouse. 1:33 How would they go about getting a hold of you? 1:34 >> We have a couple different ways. 1:37 >> Okay. 1:38 >> We have on the Treehouse site, we have a teachers page that really talks all 1:39 about the different teachers that we have here. 1:42 They're all listed out. 1:44 So if you teach with us, you get to be on that page as well. 1:45 >> Nice. 1:47 >> But there's a link there that basically says I wanna teach a course or a workshop. 1:48 And you put in the subject you'd like to teach, 1:52 the content that you'd be interested in teaching, then it comes to me. 1:54 And I go through them all, myself. 1:58 >> Okay. >> And 2:00 I do my best to respond as quickly as possible. 2:01 >> Okay. 2:04 >> Depending on whether or not we're interested in teaching the subjects. 2:05 >> Okay, so are there subjects that we're chasing after right now, 2:08 very specifically? 2:10 >> Yes. >> What's that? 2:11 >> Well, we're really trying to build out our design contents so 2:13 we're trying to really refurbish that and refresh that on the site. 2:17 We are also trying to do security courses. 2:22 >> Mm-hm. 2:25 >> We are doing QA content. 2:26 >> Okay. 2:28 >> We are teaching data analysis, and database information. 2:30 >> Wow, okay. >> So those are some of the areas, and 2:34 as you can tell, 2:37 it's a really wide variety of topics- >> Right. 2:38 >> That we're currently trying to teach. 2:41 >> Right. So then that brings up interesting 2:42 question that I've always had. 2:44 >> [LAUGH] >> You can list that in a couple of these 2:46 meetings with you. 2:48 How did you go about doing that? 2:49 There's this new topic area, here comes somebody to talk about it. 2:51 You have to help scope and plan. 2:55 How does that work? 2:57 >> So first and foremost, I am not a programmer. 2:58 >> Okay. >> I'm not a developer. 3:01 I am a project manager. 3:02 >> Okay. 3:03 >> And part of being a project manager is understanding 3:04 the basics around every component of that. 3:08 So whether it's the actual teaching, the video production, 3:11 the development pieces, I have to know a little bit. 3:15 But I'm not an expert on any of those areas. 3:18 So what I end up doing is just before when I'm looking into a subject, 3:22 I spend a lot of time researching it. 3:27 >> Okay. 3:29 >> So not only am I researching the potential teachers, but 3:29 I'm also looking into the subject itself. 3:33 >> Okay. >> So I'm not an expert when I come into 3:35 any of these meetings. 3:36 And I'm usually pretty good at throwing that out there at the beginning. 3:37 But I do have to be able to at least have a conversation about it. 3:41 So I do look on Stack Overflow. 3:44 I do research into the technology and the subject in advance so 3:46 that I can at least have a basic understanding of what we're trying to get. 3:50 >> Right, yeah. 3:54 >> I also rely really heavily on you. 3:55 >> Right. 3:57 That needs specifically? 3:57 >> Well sometimes. 3:58 >> Okay. Yeah, that's true. 3:59 That's true [INAUDIBLE] yeah. 4:00 >> Depending now if we're working together. 4:01 >> [LAUGH] >> But yeah, 4:02 I rely really heavily on our teachers. 4:02 >> Okay. 4:04 >> Cuz in the end, they understand our curriculum and what our students need. 4:05 >> Right. >> So, 4:09 I really do have our teacher's guide those conversations. 4:10 >> Cool. >> And 4:14 try to keep them within the parameters of the course itself. 4:14 >> Right, and that's next cuz nobody is doing that alone. 4:17 Cuz this is a new thing to a lot of people. 4:20 >> For sure. 4:22 >> Some people might not like being in front of a camera, right? 4:25 That might be a thing. 4:28 >> No, some people really don't like being in front of cameras. 4:29 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah, so 4:31 we actually have a couple different ways of working with our guests. 4:32 People that want to be on camera. 4:37 Absolutely can. 4:39 We just ask for demo videos from them. 4:40 >> Okay. 4:42 >> But we also work with a lot of guest authors. 4:43 And so they will write the content that is then presented by people internally. 4:46 A lot of times if you go on our site. 4:50 And you see two author names there. 4:54 One of those is the content creator and the other is the presenter. 4:56 >> That's excellent. 5:00 >> Yeah. 5:01 >> So you can kinda get a taste of if you want to get up in front of event, right? 5:02 >> Absolutely. >> That's cool. 5:06 >> Absolutely. 5:07 Yeah, we start off with a demo. 5:09 >> Okay. >> And with those demos, 5:11 which is a short little snippet of just teaching something, something little. 5:12 >> Okay. 5:17 >> And that will kinda tell people whether or not they feel comfortable with it. 5:18 >> Whether they like it or not, yeah. 5:22 It's an interesting art. 5:23 >> It is an art. 5:24 >> Yeah. 5:25 >> Yeah. 5:26 >> So if somebody out there right now watching this, is like hey, 5:27 I wanna do that or I know somebody who would be great at that. 5:31 What sort of advice would you give to that person? 5:35 >> Yeah, first of all, I recommend it. 5:37 >> Okay. >> But teaching is not for everybody. 5:40 >> Okay. 5:43 >> Teaching is a very challenging job. 5:44 We really do look for people that have either written books on the subjects or 5:46 have prior teaching experience, or have spoken at conferences or 5:53 even their local technology meetup. 5:56 >> Right. >> So having done presentation or 5:59 put together a presentation in the past is really important, because that way 6:02 you at least have a basic understanding of what you're getting into with this. 6:06 There's a lot of amazing developers out there. 6:11 Not everybody is in a position to teach. 6:13 >> Right. >> So 6:15 it's really about what you're interested in as an individual. 6:16 Some people really love sharing their knowledge. 6:21 If you're the kind of person that loves pair programming, 6:24 if you're the kind of person that is constantly going to meetups and saying, 6:27 I really wanna learn about this next thing. 6:31 And hey, I see you working on it too. 6:34 Let's work on it together. 6:36 That's the kind of person I think that ends up doing really well teaching. 6:37 >> Awesome. 6:41 My favorite question that I get to ask people like one of the show. 6:42 What is something that somebody who went to the teacher's page and 6:46 filled out that form. 6:49 What might they not know about you specifically? 6:50 I am really into wood working. 6:54 >> Mm. Wood working. 6:57 >> Wood working. 6:58 Yeah. >> How so? 6:59 What do you mean by that? 7:00 >> About a little over a year ago now, I was looking for 7:02 something to do in the winter months of Portland. 7:05 >> [LAUGH] >> And 7:08 found a program where I could just kind of learn how to build things out of wood. 7:09 So I've built pantry for my kitchen and I just finished a rocking chair. 7:15 >> How do you build a pantry? 7:19 What do you mean you built a pantry? 7:20 >> I was lacking space in my kitchen. 7:23 >> Okay. >> And I built some cabinetry. 7:25 [LAUGH] >> Okay. 7:30 >> [LAUGH] And made a full-out cabinet for my kitchen. 7:31 >> Awesome. 7:34 >> Yeah. >> That's really cool. 7:35 And then, what was the other thing? 7:36 >> I just finished a rocking chair. 7:37 >> A rocking chair that works? 7:39 >> It does, it rocks. 7:41 >> Wow. >> And it rocks the way it's supposed to. 7:42 Not just because it's uneven. 7:44 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah, that was a challenge. 7:45 Cuz you're working. 7:48 The big things for me was working with new tools. 7:49 Like different blades and to get the right angle for the rockers was really hard. 7:53 >> Okay. 7:59 >> But yeah. 8:00 >> Awesome. 8:01 Another thing that I have noticed about you. 8:02 I can't seem to think of a time when I haven't seen you 8:06 reading within five minutes. 8:09 You are always reading. 8:10 You're a bibliophile if you will. 8:11 >> I am. 8:14 [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] You love the Kindle, 8:15 you love the phone. 8:18 If there's ever a hard copy around, you've always got a book in your hand. 8:20 >> I do. I read a lot. 8:24 Some people really like watching television, which is great. 8:25 Some people like watching YouTube videos. 8:27 I like to read. 8:29 I read a lot. 8:30 I like OverDrive. 8:31 The library app is great. 8:33 I love Kindle Unlimited. 8:35 >> Yeah, I think you're the only person that I know personally that reads all 8:37 the time. 8:41 You're like, at the all you can eat buffet, 8:42 you're the people who have taken all those books. 8:45 [LAUGH] >> Yeah. 8:48 No, my parents are both librarians so 8:49 I was- >> Wow, that comes from a long life. 8:51 >> I do, a long life of reading so- >> How many books? 8:54 >> It is okay. 8:58 It's impressive, I bet. 8:59 Do you think monthly that you read? 9:00 >> Monthly? >> Yeah. 9:02 I probably read about 20 books a month. 9:08 >> [LAUGH] Wow. 9:13 >> But that's sometimes I reread books, to be fair. 9:14 >> Okay. 9:18 >> Sometimes I do reread, so if I've got a series and a new book and 9:19 a series comes out. 9:22 >> Might as well do it again. 9:23 >> I might as well just start from the beginning. 9:24 Which is really bad cuz some series of, I've already got 12 or 13 books in them. 9:26 >> [LAUGH] >> So if I wanna get to the next one, 9:30 I've got a lot of reading to do. 9:32 >> [LAUGH] Awesome. 9:34 >> So. [SOUND] 9:35 >> Thanks for watching the Treehouse Show. 9:39 To get in touch with the show, reach out to me on Twitter, or 9:41 hit us up in the Treehouse Community. 9:44 20 books. 9:46 Man, I gotta catch up. 9:47