Firehoze connects tutors and students online.
We’ve all pulled an “all-nighter” before — long sleepless nights of cramming for a test or writing that ten-page paper that was assigned three weeks ago. All-nighters aren’t only reserved for college students; I know plenty of you young entrepreneurs who go nights without sleep. It’s a fact of life for all twenty-somethings. While I don’t have a solution for entrepreneurs who aren’t sleeping, I do have one for students:
Firehoze, a website for students and educators that provides online video tutorials for concepts in specific college-level subjects.
To my fellow students, this is what we have been looking for. Firehoze means no more midnight Facebook chat conversations looking for answers for you biology exam or frantic emails to your teacher with questions about tomorrow’s test. Log on to Firehoze, find the specific course-subject you’re looking for in the ever-growing database and start learning! Professors, tutors, and teaching assistants alike can contribute video lessons to Firehoze and as a student you can “follow” your favorite educators. As a Firehoze user you can also join groups and interact with other students who are in similar courses and have like-minded questions.
Ok, so what’s the catch?
Firehoze charges a buck per video lesson. Now, before the Generation-Y side of you freaks out because you actually have to pay to do something online, there are good reasons behind why Firehoze is charging you: One, they split revenue from the purchase with the educator providing the content. And two, it ensures quality and legitimacy of the video; it’s not just some random YouTube video someone whipped together and posted for a class project.
If Firehoze can convince students that these lessons are of value, then students will be more willing to pay. Need some convincing? Check out this video explaining the steps educators have to go through to upload a lesson for students. Basically, their videos have to be awesome and totally thorough.
Not only are the videos awesome, they’re community ranked and Firehoze’s interface is exceptional as well. There’s a lot going on at Firehoze; you’ve got your “my Firehoze,” a tab for “lessons,” and a third for “groups.” In those three tabs you have subcategories, but somehow Firehoze has managed to keep this organized and easy to navigate. Before I hopped on the site I was worried I would be overwhelmed because there were so many things to do — that wasn’t a problem. Firehoze does the thinking for you. All you have to do is sit back and learn.
What do I see in the future for Firehoze?
Since I’ve totally embraced social networking, Firehoze would be even more appealing with a share feature. Facebook is a student’s favorite time waster and one of the reasons why our test scores tend to be low. Maybe I’d be a little more motivated to study if I could share with my friends what lesson I was working on via Facebook or Twitter.
Firehoze is the future of test prep and the answer to unhealthy test cramming. Guys, college just got a lot easier.
Firehoze wants your feedback! Use their Feedback option on the site, follow them on Twitter @Firehoze or fan them on Facebook.
Tags: Company Profiles, Edu, Firehoze
