Pawdacity_1

At Udacity, our goal is to provide the best educational experience possible for every student we teach. Our pursuit of this objective is informed by ongoing research, and rigorous data analysis. As we seek to improve our offerings, we generate hypotheses, and then test to determine the accuracy of our expectations.

Redefining Support Networks

One assumption we have seen affirmed time and time again is the premise that support networks have a dramatic impact on student success. We expected to confirm this, and we did. What we didn’t expect, however, was having to redefine what exactly constitutes a “support network.” We had assumed it would be—at bare minimum—a human thing. It turns out we were wrong.

Introducing Pawdacity


Our studies have made clear that support networks are NOT just human. They are, in fact, broadly mammalian, and it is time we incorporate the pawed community into our thinking about support networks, and their impact on student success. This is why we are launching Pawdacity.

As it says on our new launch page—which went live this morning!—Pawdacity is an innovative online learning program that delivers best-in-show content for the aspirational mammal in your life. The truth is, today’s pawed companion is a co-worker, a partner, an innovation driver, and a brand ambassador. For too long we have failed to recognize this, and for too long we have failed to foster the development of Mammalian Equal Opportunity Wisdom (MEOW). This changes with the launch of Pawdacity.

A Brave New World

Pawdacity embraces a platform of Companion Optimization, Leashless Learning, and Animal Rights (COLLAR), because in the bipedal-pawed ecosystem, mutually beneficial symbiosis is achieved through a commitment to Helping Aspirational Mammals Succeed Through Educational Reinvention (HAMSTER). To be clear, we’re not here to subvert the master-pet paradigm, but we are here to recognize that the pawed community needs a new kind of education. The modern professional operates in a dramatically new workforce environment, one in which the pressure to innovate is incredible. Pet owners need pets that understand these new rules of the game. Put another way, tech-savvy professionals need tech-savvy pets. This is the brave new world into which we launch Pawdacity.

The Pawdacity of Hope

We recognize that we’re on the bleeding edge with this effort, but Genuine Educational Reform By Innovative Leaders (GERBIL) is what’s needed right now, and Udacity is prepared to accept the challenge. We believe in a future where you and your furry little growth engine are each able to pursue success secure in the knowledge that genuine learning opportunities are now available to BOTH of you. We know it won’t be easy, but we designed Pawdacity specifically to allow for Fostering Learning Environments At Scale (FLEAS), and we are confident we have a model that will work.

Audacious? You bet. Or perhaps we should say, Pawdacious!

 

Christopher Watkins
Christopher Watkins
Christopher Watkins is Senior Writer and Chief Words Officer at Udacity. He types on a MacBook or iPad by day, and either an Underwood, Remington, or Royal by night. He carries a Moleskine everywhere.