Missoula Influencer Hank Green Announces New Website
One of the benefits of having non-Montana residents come to the University of Montana for school, and then make Missoula their home, is that Missoula gets populated with some really cool people. Hank Green is one of those cool people and he's making the world a better place.
Remind Me Who Hank Green Is Again?
Yes, Green is an "influencer" but he's really so much more. The occupations listed on the Wikipedia entry about him include:
- YouTube Vlogger
- Author
- Entrepreneur/CEO
- Podcaster
- Producer
- TikToker
- Musician
Notably, among his many projects, he's earned a reputation for being a science and education advocate. You'll often find him on social media explaining scientific phenomena, like glutamates in mushrooms, for example.
You might also know him from his New York Times Best Selling novels or the fact that he's John Green's brother.
Yesterday, Hank Green announced on Instagram what he says is, "...Maybe one of the biggest professional achievements of my life." For someone as accomplished as Hank Green, that's saying something.
Warning: Language NSFW in the following video.
You can check out the collaboration between Arizona State University, YouTube, and Crash Course called, appropriately, "Study Hall" right here.
Why Study Hall Could Be a Gamechanger for Education
In the "Welcome to Study Hall" video on the Study Hall website, Green quickly points out that "Everyone's college journey looks different."
When I was teaching college in Billings, Montana I frequently had nontraditional students. That meant that my students hadn't just graduated high school. Often, they were single parents who were trying to get a degree in order to get a better job, and they were several years out from graduating high school. Navigating the college landscape can be very different for nontraditional students because often, school isn't their only priority. A tool like Study Hall could really help nontraditional students.
And for traditional students, those who matriculate right after graduating high school, there are tons of resources here. I know I would have appreciated something like their "How to College" course when I was making plans to attend college.
In addition, the fact that Green and his colleagues are trying to help with college costs is admirable. A model where you don't pay for the material until you're satisfied with your grades is fascinating and will potentially help make a college education accessible for more people.
Read more: Why It's Unfair and Not Useful to Rank Montana Colleges [Opinion]