I’ve done a lot of research into how I learn best. Frustrated by my ability to learn from certain venues, I wanted to know where to spend my time to get the most from an educational opportunity.
I’ve considered myself to always be a student. There is something exciting about learning something new. Whatever it is. But the process that I choose can make the effort grueling or a fun adventure.
Being talked at by someone in the front of the classroom is high on my list of things that don’t work well with me. My auditory preference is very low on the list of ways that I take in information. Worst case are audio books. I’ve tried many times to listen to audio books, both fiction and non. In each case my mind just heads out on its own leaving me to wonder what I’ve been listening to for the past hour.
I’m a very visual person, so reading is high on my list of what works. If the person at the front of the classroom has copious visual aids then I have a better chance of retaining something from the class.
And, yes, I do a lot of reading of reference material. Books, articles, and blog posts all give me something to work with. But I have to be careful when and where I read such material. If I’m a little tired and the chair is comfortable, my reading session turns into nap time.
A few years ago I stumbled onto MOOC’s, massive open online courses. Examples of these include Coursera, Udemy and edX. The philosophy around these sites is to provide education in a number of areas to anyone who can access it online, and often for free.
It’s true that the content of online courses can vary greatly. Things I look for in an online class include:
1. the course is sponsored by an educational institution and/or is taught by someone associated with such a place
2. the course is taught by someone with many years of experience in the field
3. the course has been offered a number of times
4. the reviews of the course are positive in regards to the type of learning that works best for me
What I like about MOOC’s is that they come in a variety of flavors. For instance, I’ve taken online courses in Philosophy, Quantum Physics as well as in writing and publishing. Taking courses in different topics keeps my educational efforts from getting stale.
For example, Coursera offers a course called Introduction to Philosophy sponsored by the University of Edinburgh. It is a good intro to the thoughts of the great philosophers and is presented in a way that is easy to follow.
I’ve taken a few courses from Jessica Brody on Udemy. She is an author and does a great job explaining some of the basics of writing, publishing and marketing. She has a relaxed presentation style and the classes are easy to dip into when I have a chunk of time to watch them.
One of her classes is The Foundations of Fiction Writing. I really like the format, which includes exercises. She also does the exercises, then discusses how she came up with the writing that she did for the exercise.
What I have found is that taking online classes is a break from the regular writing that I do. It helps exercise areas of my brain that may not be working all that hard. And I learn a lot useful things that I may or may not use in my novel writing.
You may not be making plates and bowls, but taking an online class in pottery design can be a refreshing break!