Online Learning Can Be Awesome. Here's How.
Summary
TLDRThe speaker discusses the overwhelming abundance of learning resources in the digital age and the challenges it presents. They suggest evaluating resources based on their target audience, whether they prioritize foundational or advanced knowledge, and whether they focus on rigorous procedures or conceptual understanding. The importance of practice, community interaction, and real-world application is emphasized, advocating for a balanced approach to learning that incorporates both in-app and out-of-app experiences. The script concludes with a call to support giveinternet.org, an organization providing internet access to students in underserved areas.
Takeaways
- 📚 Historically, access to learning resources was scarce, but today we have an abundance of materials like books, videos, and podcasts.
- 🤔 To be an effective online learner, it's important to consider what type of learning resource to use, whether it's a course, textbook, or online platform.
- 🔎 When evaluating learning resources, consider if they are aimed at beginners or advanced students and if they focus on definitions and procedures or intuition and understanding.
- 📈 Look for resources that complement each other, serving as primary and reference materials, or alternating between them for a well-rounded learning experience.
- 🎓 Practice is crucial for learning, so seek out resources that offer ample opportunities for applying knowledge and skills through questions and problem-solving.
- 💪 The quality of practice matters; aim for challenging exercises that promote skill development rather than just simple check-your-understanding questions.
- 👥 Interacting with others through online forums or communities can significantly enhance the learning process by providing diverse perspectives and answers.
- 🗓️ Spread out learning over time for better retention and consider how you will structure your learning sessions for long-term skill development.
- 🎯 Think about when and how you will use the knowledge gained from learning resources in real-life situations beyond the course environment.
- 🔄 Mix in-app practice with out-of-app practice to ensure that skills transfer effectively from the course to real-world applications.
- 🌐 Recognize the privilege of internet access, as many people worldwide lack this fundamental resource for learning and growth.
- 💰 Consider supporting organizations like giveinternet.org that work to provide internet access to students in need, enabling them to access educational opportunities.
Q & A
What is the main challenge the speaker identifies with the abundance of learning resources available today?
-The main challenge is that having access to so many resources can make learning harder, as opposed to learning from a single textbook or as an apprentice, where the focus is more concentrated.
What are the two key dimensions the speaker suggests considering when evaluating learning resources?
-The two dimensions are whether the resource is aimed at beginners or advanced students, and whether it focuses on rigorous definitions and procedures or on intuition and conceptual understanding.
Why might someone choose to use multiple learning resources in tandem?
-Using multiple resources can complement each other, allowing one to serve as a primary source while another serves as a reference or provides additional practice opportunities.
What does the speaker suggest about the importance of practice in learning?
-The speaker emphasizes that practice is crucial, and it's important to look for resources that offer challenging questions and opportunities to apply and grow skills.
How does the speaker evaluate the quality of practice provided by a learning resource?
-The speaker evaluates practice quality by considering whether the questions are merely check-your-understanding type or if they are challenging enough to promote skill development.
What role do online forums play in the learning process according to the speaker?
-Online forums provide a platform for interaction, allowing learners to ask questions, receive answers, and benefit from the diverse perspectives and expertise of the community.
Why is it beneficial to have a vibrant community as part of a learning resource?
-A vibrant community enriches the learning experience by exposing learners to questions and answers they might not have thought of, and by providing a range of expertise levels for more comprehensive understanding.
What is the speaker's approach to spreading learning over time for long-term skill growth?
-The speaker suggests spreading learning across time by planning out learning sessions and avoiding cramming, as this aids in long-term retention and understanding.
How does the speaker view the difference between in-app and out-of-app practice?
-The speaker acknowledges that in-app practice is often simplified and provides instant feedback, but emphasizes the importance of also engaging in out-of-app practice to better simulate real-world application of skills.
What is the purpose of the organization giveinternet.org as mentioned by the speaker?
-Giveinternet.org aims to provide internet access to students, particularly in underserved areas, to enhance their educational opportunities, enabling them to access resources, continue their education, and improve their future prospects.
Why does the speaker advocate for donating to giveinternet.org?
-The speaker advocates for donating because it addresses a fundamental barrier to education—lack of internet access—and because donations through the provided link will be matched, doubling the impact.
Outlines
📚 The Challenge of Abundance in Learning Resources
The first paragraph discusses the historical scarcity of learning resources compared to today's overwhelming abundance. It poses questions about how to effectively choose and utilize the vast array of learning materials available online, such as courses, textbooks, videos, and podcasts. The speaker emphasizes the importance of evaluating these resources based on their target audience (beginners or advanced students) and their focus (rigorous definitions or conceptual understanding). The paragraph also mentions the value of complementary resources and the role of practice in learning, suggesting that a mix of content and practice is ideal.
🤔 Evaluating and Integrating Learning Resources
In the second paragraph, the speaker continues the discussion on learning resources by focusing on the aspect of practice and the importance of finding the right balance between content and practical application. They stress the need for challenging questions and activities that promote skill development. The paragraph also touches on the significance of community interaction through online forums and the benefits of diverse expertise within these communities. The speaker encourages periodic self-evaluation of the learning process to ensure it is effective and to identify any gaps in understanding or practice.
🌐 The Importance of Internet Access for Learning
The final paragraph shifts the focus to the broader issue of internet access as a prerequisite for online learning. The speaker highlights the work of giveinternet.org, an organization that provides internet access to students in underserved areas, enabling them to access educational resources and opportunities. The paragraph outlines the organization's approach, which includes working closely with local communities and adapting to meet their specific needs. The speaker also encourages donations to giveinternet.org to support their mission and mentions that donations made through a provided link will be matched, thereby doubling the impact.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Learning Resource
💡Apprenticeship
💡Coursera
💡Khan Academy
💡Crash Course
💡Beginner vs. Advanced
💡Rigorous Definitions
💡Practice
💡Online Forum
💡Long-term Growth
💡giveinternet.org
Highlights
The historical scarcity of learning resources contrasts sharply with today's abundance of books, videos, and online content.
The overwhelming availability of learning resources can make the learning process more challenging rather than easier.
Effective online learning involves choosing the right learning resources based on several considerations.
Learning resources can be categorized as beginner or advanced based on their content depth.
The balance between rigorous definitions and intuitive understanding is crucial when selecting learning resources.
Complementary resources that offer a mix of foundational knowledge and advanced insights can enhance learning.
The value of practice in learning cannot be overstated, with a focus on the type and quality of practice provided.
Content creators like Andy from andyguitar.co.uk incorporate practice into their courses, enhancing the learning experience.
The importance of finding or creating opportunities for practice to solidify learning.
Online forums and communities offer interactive learning experiences that can enrich understanding.
Evaluating the quality of interaction in online communities is key to leveraging them for learning.
The concept of spreading learning over time for long-term skill development.
The application of learned skills in real-life scenarios is distinct from in-app or course-based practice.
The importance of mixing in-app practice with out-of-app practice to bridge the gap between learning environments.
The periodic reevaluation of learning resources and methods to ensure they are effective and meeting learning goals.
The digital divide and the efforts of organizations like giveinternet.org to provide internet access to students in need.
Giveinternet.org's approach to addressing the fundamental issue of internet access for educational purposes.
The call to action for donations to giveinternet.org to support educational opportunities for underserved students.
Transcripts
For most of human history, you would be lucky to have one single textbook - one precious
learning resource that you would reread dozens of times. Today, there are hundreds, thousands,
millions of books, videos, blog posts, and podcasts all trying to teach you something.
We have an absolute embarrassment of riches. But that doesn't necessarily make learning
easier. In some ways, having access to all of these resources is harder than,
say, learning as an apprentice or learning from a single textbook.
To be a really effective online learner I try to answer the following questions.
What Learning Resource should I use? Do I take a Coursera course or download a good
textbook or fire up Khan Academy or make my way through a Crash Course on YouTube or find
a good blog or download an app? There are lots of ways to evaluate these learning resources,
but here's a couple of dimensions to consider. One question is: is this a learning resource
aimed at beginners or is this for more advanced students? YouTube videos and online courses are
often created to introduce a subject - to provide some kind of basic foundation - while blog posts
by specialists and textbooks can offer more nuanced, advanced takes on things. Another
question is: is this a resource that focuses on rigorous definitions and procedures or is it a
resource that focuses on intuition and conceptual understanding? Often, you're looking for resources
that complement each other. You can use one as a primary and another as a reference or you could
bounce back and forth between the two as you're learning the subject matter. Some people have also
created amazing guides to the resources out there like Susan Rigetti's guide to learning physics.
Another way to evaluate learning resources is to ask a different question: how am I going to be
getting the right practice or experience? Many online courses are content heavy - they want
to tell you a lot of stuff. And, as students, we also tend to favor content over practice.
It takes less effort to watch a video about physics than it does to sit down and do some
physics problems. So when I look at an online course or a learning app, I think about where
and when I'll actually be getting practice at something. What percentage of the time that I
spend in the course is actually spent on answering questions or solving problems or getting practice
at some skill or applying some ideas? I want that percentage to be on the higher side. I also think
about the value of the practice that I'm getting. Are these questions little, dinky, true-or-false,
check-your-understanding questions? Or are they questions that are actually going to challenge me
so that I can grow my skills? In some cases, the practice is already built into the subject matter,
even in a content-heavy course. Andy, from andyguitar.co.uk, presumes that
you are sitting there with your guitar or your ukulele as you are watching his content. That is,
you are practicing with him, before him, after him and so some amount of practice is already
incorporated into the course. But in other cases you have to actually find those practice
opportunities or you're reliant on the teacher to provide you with certain practice opportunities
and - again - this is where complimentary resources come into play. Have a resource
that explains things really well but doesn't give you any practice? That's great. Pair it up with
another resource that gives you more practice but maybe doesn't explain things that well.
Another question I like to ask about learning resources is:
where can I interact with others? You can learn a lot by yourself, of course,
but you can learn even more when you interact with other people. One kind of resource that
we haven't talked about yet is the online forum. I'm looking for at least one resource
that I'm using to have access to a vibrant community. iIdeally it's a place where I can
ask questions and receive answers but even just lurking on the forums or in the comment
sections of videos can enrich the learning experience. People ask questions I wouldn't
have thought of and people provide answers that I wouldn't have thought of either. There
are also other things to consider. Are people asking good questions? do a lot of questions
go unanswered? Are people interacting politely and respectfully? Is there a range of levels of
expertise within the community? If everyone's a beginner, there might be more confusion than
clarity. But if everyone's an expert, I might not understand the conversation in the first place.
As I'm using these resources I ask myself a couple of other questions. How am I going to spread my
learning out? I'm almost always thinking in terms of long-term growth of skills and spreading out
our learning across time is important for this kind of goal. Once I commit to learning something,
I think about what the next learning session is going to be like. What am I going to do during
that time and when is it going to happen? I don't want to cram everything in all at
once. Even subtle changes like splitting a 2-hour reading session into two one hour blocks can have
long-term benefits for learning. Fundamentally, I don't think of learning as shoving more
information into my head. I think of it more like becoming really good friends with the topic.
Another question: when am I actually going to use what I am learning? We talked before about
whether a learning resource provides practice opportunities. More practice opportunities and
better practice opportunities, well, that's good. But the practice that we're getting inside the
closed environment of an online course is bound to be a little bit different than how we would
apply what we are learning outside of that course. The math problems that you confront in school are
different in important ways from the math problems that you might confront outside of school. You may
have to write an essay in class, but it's still probably more constrained than the task of writing
an essay in real life. Of course, the fact that there's a difference between in-app practice and
out-of-app practice is often what makes the app good for learning in the first place. SimplyPiano,
for instance, does, I think, a pretty good job at teaching fundamental piano skills. And there's
lots of practice involved. But the practice that you get during those courses is still a
little bit different than actually playing sheet music or even accompanying other musicians. The
pieces are shorter and simplified and you get instant feedback and you don't have to turn
the pages and you don't have to coordinate with anyone else. But the reason that they do that
is to make things easier to learn. Still, I like to mix up my in-app practice with plenty
of out-of-app practice. I never want to deceive myself into thinking that my performance inside
the bounds of the course will be the same as my performance outside of those bounds.
Now, I don't definitively answer these questions every time I go to learn something new. In fact,
I think it's impossible to answer these questions in the beginning. Rather, these
are questions that I asked myself periodically as I am learning something. What is this resource
really helping me to do? Am I getting the right kind of practice? What else is missing?
If you have other tips about online learning, please put them in the
comments below so that other people can benefit from them - including myself.
But you know what else helps us to learn effectively? Having internet access in the
first place. It's easy to forget that there's about a billion people without internet access.
So this embarrassment of riches that we take for granted they've barely seen. That's why I'm trying
to raise awareness for an organization called giveinternet.org. They provide internet access
to students so that the students can get better jobs, they can contribute to their communities,
and they can learn cool new skills. There's three reasons why I like giveinternet.org. The first is
that they are close to the problem. the group still works out of Tbilisi in Georgia and has
helped students in Georgia for years before they branched out into new areas. And when they do move
into new areas they find partner organizations that they can trust and adapt their processes to
meet local needs. Currently, they work in refugee camps and with some of the most underserved
communities in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Lebanon, India, and Georgia. The second reason I like them
is that their leadership learns over time. The group began in Georgia translating Khan Academy
videos into Georgian. But then they realized that many Georgians did not have internet access in
the first place to even take advantage of these translated videos. So they focused on what they
saw was the more fundamental problem. The third reason that I like them, and probably the most
important reason, is that giveinternet.org is not interested in just throwing the internet at
someone and walking away. They work with students to connect them to educational resources and,
together with partner organizations, fill gaps in educational systems. For instance, a student at a
refugee camp may go to school for a few years but then when they return home without a computer and
without internet access they can't continue their education. That's where giveinternet.org steps in.
So if you have a few bucks lying around, and you want to give students educational opportunities
that they otherwise wouldn't have, donating to giveinternet.org is a great way to do it.
And if you donate through my link below your donation will be matched, so you'll be able
to double the impact that you will have. That's it, thanks for listening. I'll see you next time.
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