Teachersforpay.com: eBay for lesson plans

Teachers don't have to look very hard for lesson plans on the Internet, but some go the extra mile and design their own lesson plans— tailor-made for their classes. So why shouldn't teachers be able make a little profit from all their hard work?

That's what New York entrepreneur Paul Edelman thought when he came up with the idea for teachersforpay.com, a website for teachers who want to sell their lesson plans, course outlines and lectures, reports Tech News World.

The eBay-like website allows sellers to post their work and set their prices. Buyers also rate the products. .

"It's a way to pat teachers on the back, to value what they do," Edelman said. "They create the material night after night. The best way to value that is to put a price on it."

Edelman is a former teacher and says he's found a niche. He cashed in his retirement fund and maxed out his credit cards to fund the venture, which he launched in April. He keeps 15 percent of every sale and charges a yearly $29.95 "teacher-authors" membership fee.

The prices for lesson plans vary but most are in the under $10, some as cheap as a dollar. The site is arranged by subject matter.

"This is what we do all the time -- we're down in the trenches, sharing information. This just gives us access on a much wider basis," said Jim Smith, who teaches U.S. history in Las Cruces, N.M., and took the state's top teaching honor a few years ago.