Video Game Writing Class Is Real-Life Gamechanger

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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In today's story, a teacher and mother of four creates a new online learning experience she calls Video Game Social Clubs. She's actually teaching classes on creative writing using video games. She now earns several thousand dollars a month doing this with a schedule of her choosing. She uses a platform called OutSchool that allows qualified teachers to develop their own classes you then earn based on how many students sign up. So a couple of interesting things here.

First, the model itself. I don't think we've ever talked about OutSchool before. Second, the highly creative and successful courses that today's featured case study has designed. Again, courses about creative writing using the language and theme of video games. So pretty cool.

Video game writing class is real life game changer. That's what we're gonna call it. You're listening to Setasil School. That story is coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]

Did you have a favorite teacher in school?

Maybe a music teacher, English teacher, or maybe you had that one really fantastic science teacher that made chemistry come to life. Well, the legendary teacher in today's story might have everyone beat because her subject is video games. Her classrooms aren't brick and mortar. They are the magical worlds of Legend of Zelda, Banjo-Kazooie, Mario Kart, and Pokemon. Her name is Devon Ricks, known as Miss Devon to her students.

And she uses the landscape of these whimsical games to teach creative writing and social skills, engaging her students directly through gameplay. And she does this all online from the comforts of her home. No physical classroom needed. And that's not all, she also gets paid for this. That's right, this is Setasil School.

How did this teacher turn video gaming into a $4,000 a month Setasil? Well, four years ago, Devon Ricks' husband started dental school. His student loans weren't enough to cover their family of six. Devon, therefore, decided she needed something flexible to help with the bills. She started teaching English to kids in China through an online company called VIP Kit.

And that was cool, but her hours were 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., which, as she puts it, was basically the worst schedule ever. Nevertheless, she noticed that several teachers working for VIP Kit were jumping ship to find work through another platform called OutSchool. She figured, why not? Anything had to be better than the worst schedule ever.

Now, you might be wondering what OutSchool is. Well, in a nutshell, it's an international educational platform that provides classes in every subject imaginable. At OutSchool, you can find classes in photography, art, French, coding, mindfulness, algebra, pottery, and many more. OutSchool teachers set their own prices, design their own classes, and determine the length of time they'll be in class teaching. All perks that appeal to Devon.

She applied and was accepted. Initially, she charged $12 per class on the lower end of OutSchool's recommended price range of $10 to $20. Next, she had to figure out what to teach, being fluent in Spanish. Devon decided to start by teaching, you guessed it, Spanish class. But there wasn't much demand for that, so she changed topics.

Next, she tried to teach cooking. That didn't work well either, so she moved on to other ideas. In short, she was throwing everything she could at it, looking to find her way, but unfortunately, she wasn't getting very far. It was almost game over until she had an all-new idea. As Devon continued to brainstorm, she realized her two passions were creative writing and video games.

Why not create a class that does both? On a whim, she wrote a description and opened it for registration, hoping that kids would enjoy her innovative mashup. And she was right. This was where she found her niche, and the classes filled up. Not just once, but month after month.

Her flagship class, Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild creative writing class, spawned even more classes. Her roster now features Animal Crossing and Mario Kart, among others. All right, a few details. Out School takes 30% of her earnings and markets her classes to their broad network. It works well because parents typically start their search once they're on the platform.

The uniqueness of Devon's programming, along with an engaging personality, has led to her success. Growing her business means buying new games, which she uses as inspiration for future classes. She's also raised her price to $14 per student, as she's grown in popularity. One year after starting at Out School, Devon brings in $4,000 each month, teaching just 25 hours per week. These earnings mean that her husband can stay focused on dental school and they can avoid additional student loans.

Ms. Devon has big plans for the future. She's wielding her gaming superpowers to continue to level up her business. She hopes to create an organization within Out School, meaning that other teachers will work for her, teaching video games, social club classes. Her next goal is to monetize a YouTube channel.

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If you are a teacher, you might wanna take a look at Out School, or if you know a teacher, perhaps send them to this. And this is not a sponsor, by the way, just my own commentary after working on Devon's story. It looks like Out School has over 140,000 classes, which, 140,000 classes, that's basically endless possibilities, which means you also need to stand out somehow, because I'm pretty sure 140,000 classes are not in great demand. So some classes are in much more demand than others. It's not surprising to me that the video game creative writing teacher has found an excellent way of standing out.

So well done for her. My only question would be if she can continue to grow this even more. And I could see it going either way. You know, you've obviously got some things going for you. You've also got some built-in limitations here, limitations including the fact that this is someone else's platform, and some other teacher, most likely, you know, can and will copy a working model.

That's what usually tends to happen in situations like these. Nevertheless, you know, big success so far, no doubt. So congratulations, Ms. Devon. And also listeners, if you wanna check out Ms. Devon on YouTube, just search for that.

Of course, we'll link it up in the notes page. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. That notes page, including links to everything mentioned in the episode and more, will be at sidehustleschool.com/2033. 2033. Thanks for tuning in today.

We've got a new episode coming out tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the Onward Project.