Last week I made the decision to go back to school! Course building school to be more precise and today is my first day being a beginner in this new skill.

In 2020 I started a new business, The School of Reinvention. The intention with this business was to pivot from in-person or live work to digital and on-demand products and services. This wasn’t a huge pivot, but a pivot nonetheless in the types of products I produce and how I distribute them.

As a teacher for the last 10 years, I thought course building would come quite easily. I figured since I’ve taught math courses, immersive learning experiences, and workshops, a digital course wouldn’t be too much of an issue. However, as I got to work on my first digital course, I couldn’t help but realize this was not as direct or natural a transition as I had imagined.

My first digital course felt like nothing more than my course lectures and activities on video. When I finished producing the course, it didn’t feel like it was what I really wanted.

This caused me to go back to my comfort zone of booking live events that pay well and make me feel productive and successful. However, this wasn’t what I set out to do when I launched The School of Reinvention.

The Joy of Being a Beginner Again

A couple of months later, I was reminded of something I learned in past reinventions. Reinventing yourself means becoming a beginner student again. It’s actually one of the most exciting parts of reinvention. You are back to learning mode, at a very entry level, where everything feels so new and novel. And since reinvention never starts from scratch, you bring past experiences and confidence into the new learning journey. You have something interesting to offer the new subject. That confidence and those past skills make you a better student. It makes learning fun!

This reminded me of the joy and fulfillment I got from learning how to become a forward in soccer after nearly 20 years as a defender. All of a sudden, I was a student of the game again. I was watching videos, reading tutorials, and studying forwards. I would record games and watch how some of the best forwards took shots in slow motion so I could take notes and practice that on the soccer field the next day. Becoming a beginner again can be a lot of fun!

Reinventing Myself into a Digital Course Producer

After reflecting on that experience, I realized that I’m switching positions again. I’m going from live and in-person speaking, facilitating, and delivery to digital course design, production, and distribution. The game is the same, but I’m taking a new position on the field.

It’s time to go read those tutorials, watch those videos, and study people who are doing it well.

So that’s why I joined the Digital Course Academy, taught by Amy Porterfield. As a beginner in digital course design, production, and distribution, I wanted to find a course and community that could help me learn these skills to reinvent myself as needed to successfully build The School of Reinvention.

They say you have to eat your own dog food and this is me doing exactly that!

First Day of School

Today is my first day of school! On my calendar, I have a 2 hour block dedicated to starting the first module. I’m so excited to get started! I have already spent some time in the Facebook group meeting some of my classmates and I can’t wait to learn from them and support them.

See you after school!