The Curation Station: reimagining the way we learn

The Curation Station, a Virtual Library developed by DCL Curations, is a gamified educational experience that aims to make learning about, and beginning to work in, Decentraland less overwhelming. Standing on the edge of the digital future, it is easy to see that the education system of the past is not up to the task of preparing people for a life in the metaverse. Working with the community to break down complicated ideas into easily digestible segments and incorporating traditional game mechanics to keep users engaged, the Curation Station is an essential first step into the future of metaverse education.

Learning doesn't have to be boring. Homework doesn't have to be work. Education can be fun. That, in part, is what the Curation Station hopes to prove with its virtual library. I hear the ney sayers now, "How fun can a library be?" Does your IRL library have a Duke Nukem-inspired book blasting firearm? That's what I thought.

Located at coordinates 130,130 in the Aetheria district, the largest district in Decentraland. The virtual library is a fanciful oasis in a sea of Cyberpunk that would feel at home at Hogwarts.

You can't know what you don't know, and Decentraland has a way of reminding you of that no matter how long you spend in the community and trying to learn everything. When an international community is working 24/7, 365 days a year, you won't be able to keep up with everything. A resource like the virtual library is invaluable to new and experienced community members alike.

The Curation Station virtual library is a testament to what a decentralized space can accomplish. Created by the community, for the community, with contributions from across Decentraland, the virtual library is the culmination of years, if not decades, of collective experience on a platform that is barely a few years old.

Decentraland is still very much in its infancy. For Decentraland to reach its full potential, it needs to attract and onboard the builders of tomorrow. The most effective way to streamline this process is by creating hands-on experiences that engage users actively in Decentraland.

With 48 courses already available as of this article's writing, DCL Curations aims to have over 200 courses available by the end of the year. These courses cover everything from how to play Decentraland games to creating 3D models in Blender and developing your own game.

Along with quadrupling course offerings the Curation Station will be doubling, or even tripling, down on the fun, as they move into their next phase (Grant Proposal expected this month). With the creation of an additional PVE gaming experience that utilizes the rewards from completing courses to battle enemy invaders and creating a core game loop that will keep you so engaged you don't even realize you are learning.

The future of the Curation Stations virtual library excites me. The potential of a metaverse library is truly infinite. 10 years from now, each course could have its own fully fleshed-out experience where you are sucked into another world. A Startrek likes Holodeck where imagination is the only limitation.

If all this sounds awesome, I have good news, it gets better. Not only does the Curation Station offer this fun learning experience, but they are also willing to pay you, the DCL community, to help expand their library. Paying $100 a course, this is an excellent opportunity for anyone in the community to help others and get paid to do it.

There is so much Institutional Knowledge in the community and it was a brilliant choice to decentralize the creation of the courses designed to help people learn how to work in a decentralized space. While it may feel obvious to incorporate the community into creating the content in this way. It is much easier said than done, and often people will centralize the process of creating a decentralized product.

DCL Curations is not only educating people on the potential of a decentralized metaverse with their words, but they are also showing you how to make it a reality with their actions. We have a long way to go before we are going to be able to download skills directly into our brain, ala The Matrix, but it is the work of projects like the Curation Stations virtual library that gives me hope that one day we just might get there.