But whatever form the future of education takes, I could never get behind ad-supported teaching or content. As a scholar of the humanities, a big part of my pedagogical project is to challenge contemporary ad-driven culture and foster alternative modes of being and knowing. That’s not to say I against using some of the techniques of advertising in class rooms (such as developing a class brand and have a theme song), but it would undermine my whole reason for being here if I had make students sit through an ad before class began. And because I fear that this a real possibility, I think it is important for educators to fight to perserve some kind of space apart from ads and commercial culture.

But yeah, man. Supplement your income on the private sector track and see if you can get research grant money to help offset those startup expenses. Since you formally teach this stuff as your day job, you can use this not only as a business model but as research into the shifting model for developing a ‘free culture’ model for education. Just complete the cycle by publishing your results or integrating your own business experiences into the next 501 class. Or better yet, use it to develop an entire seminar. Masters Candidates are qualified to teach higher education in their subject material… what you would be providing is directly relevant and applicable to the future career prospects for ICM students that wanted to develop their own teaching model themselves.

I’d do it myself, but I’m just not willing to sacrifice my weekends over this yet. :)