Learning On Your Time with Online Learning Platforms

* A version of this post was originally featured on the OOHLALA Blog and on the Nerd for a Living blog.

I have been fortunate to work in student affairs for the past several years. It has been a fun and transformative experience for me. But lately, I’ve been starting to feel as though I’m in a rut. I’m ready for a change, perhaps into a new career field. I’m interested in getting into marketing, but I don’t feel like I have all the necessary skills and experiences yet to be a competitive candidate.

Wanting a more formal basis for this career shift, and not having the time to return to life as a full-time student, I began to look into different online learning platforms. Here’s what I discovered:

Online Learning Platforms – edX, Coursera, and Udacity

The promise of sites like edX, Coursera, and Udacity is that you can partake in, (often free), courses on all sorts of topics, (usually), on your own schedule. Think of these tools as webinars, but better in pretty much every way—and about stuff that you’re actually interested in. There are presentations, videos, and resources around specific learning outcomes and topics. The instruction is a bit longer than your typical webinar, but the end result is a wonderful handcrafted course that teaches you about a practical skill you can use.

The Sky’s the Limit

The breadth of content on these platforms is impressive. A simple search reveals courses on everything from game design to fantasy literature, superhero culture to programming.While some of these offerings can be fulfilling on a personal level, there are also many options to further yourself professionally. For example, I enjoyed taking some courses from the "Career Success" specialization offered by the University of California at Irvine. There are even connections to universities for many of the courses. This means they may also give you credit towards a degree.

All these online learning platforms offer a simple and accessible way to learn whatever you want on your time at whatever pace, (and cost), you wish. You don’t have feel anxious about investing in courses, fees, or books that might not pay off.

The lack of huge investment in these platforms is an incredible disruption to the education paradigm. It benefits any of us working towards work that fulfills us.

The Alternative Education Experience

As someone who works at an institution of higher learning, I am, perhaps counter-intuitively, supportive of these platforms. They help bring learning to more people in the world, which is what I hope to help foster in my own way. It’s why I got into education in the first place. These services embody the values I wish more higher education institutions would work towards. They limit financial risk, focus on the content, and create courses on what users want. A typical course takes only several hours to complete, so you could be on your way to a certificate or college credit within a month’s time.

While the experience of going to a college campus is uniquely beneficial, not everyone can invest in that experience. Also, the need for specific college degrees as credentials for entering a particular field is diminishing. In some fields, job seekers now just need to be able to prove they can do the work. Sitting in a classroom, learning about how to do these things, isn’t necessarily preferred. Online learning platforms can get you engaged in the topics you want to learn about, and won’t waste your time with anything else.

Low-Risk and Available Anytime

What my exploration of these platforms has encouraged is that it’s never too late to start working toward a career you love. While these online learning platforms will not be the end of that journey of growth and change, they can be a strong start. The best part is that you have nothing to lose by checking these sites out and diving into a course. They’re low-risk and are available anytime you are ready to engage.

I look forward to getting involved with some of these platforms myself. I hope the experience is positive for those who choose to get involved as well.

How Technology Has Shaped My Life For The Better

For as long as I can remember, technology has been a part of my life. I’ve played video games since I was a kid, we had a family computer for as long ago as I can remember (with a dial-up internet connection no less), and I practiced my computer typing as well as used different computer programs to learn in grade school. This has persisted strongly into my adult life, with me having a personal fondness for apps and tools to make our lives easier.

Many people lament technology, but I appreciate it (check out this great book review for some more optimistic thoughts about technology). It has done so much for me in all its different forms. It has helped me meet new people, have fun, and learn. Here are some stories and reflections about each of these gifts technology has given me:

Meeting New People

It is really powerful to connect with people over shared interests, whatever they may be. Once you get people talking about what they love, it makes their enthusiasm contagious. I’ve had the joy of sharing my love of video games with people ever since I was young. I would play games with the neighboring kids and would swap games with each other too. When I got older, I bonded with my college roommate with Call of Duty (the first Modern Warfare to be exact), and met some nice people from all over the world through games like World of Warcraft. You could even consider the connections I’ve strengthened through silly games like Words with Friends or playing online Blackjack games on smartphones. Video games will always be a part of my life, no matter how big or small. They’re just a great way to have fun with others!

Have Fun

Speaking of fun, technology helps us have fun. Obviously video games are a big way, but our smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, and streaming devices - when connected to a decent connection like the best satellite internet - allow us to share funny videos, enjoy our favorite shows and movies together, and let us bond over old memories with our photos. I personally don’t partake, but there are apps like Snapchat that give people great joy through silly filters and doodles. Not to mention all the apps out there that are simply made to be fun, like a lightsaber app or one that makes funny sound effects. There were limitations on doing any of this before, where now we can share in all of these things even if we are far apart from those we care about.

Learn New Things

Something that I really appreciate nowadays is being able to look things up when I want an answer. It can range from who this actor is in on whatever show I’m watching, or viewing an informative YouTube video about the science of napping. There is so much knowledge out in the world today, and now all of it is at our fingertips. While some people seem to scoff at this modern era where we no longer have to wonder about things, I love how we can have answers to any and all of even the most mundane queries.

As we reevaluate the role technology has in our lives, we can appreciate it as a worthy compliment to it. There is certainly a line where it becomes too much, but we can use technology in a proper way to supplement our lives and make them richer. We just need to understand what it can offer and its limitations.

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 09/18/15

Greetings!

Here's what is going on in my world this week:

• Coursera

I've been diving in with various courses on this online learning platform lately, completing three courses already within about a week's time, and starting work on three more courses. I want to expand my formal knowledge about workplace success, marketing, and social media. Coursera is providing an awesome, cheap, and nimble way to achieve this goal for myself. I wrote up a post on sites like this for the cool cats over at Nerd for a Living, so check that out for some more thoughts.

• iOS 9

What has become a informal holiday for Apple tech geeks like myself, the yearly launch of the newest iteration of the iPhone operating system happened this week, and I updated my devices as soon as possible. iOS 9 is a more subtle improvement, but it is always nice to get a big refresh even if I don't get a new device in a given year. Apple is continuously improving everything they do, and it is a big reason I am an avid fan of their brand.

• Dear Hank & John

I got recommended this new podcast recently which is a Q&A show hosted by the Internet famous Hank and John Green. I'm a fan of much of what these two do (Mental Floss is a big one for me) so I was excited to check out their podcast. It is equal parts funny, poignant, and genuine. It perfectly embodies the brand(s) they have made together and on their own. Any fans of these two, either together or apart, should definitely check this show out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Why Graduation Isn't The End, It's the Beginning

* This article was originally posted on The Student Affairs Hub.

Graduation is a huge life milestone that is a mix of so many emotions for college students: excitement, fear, accomplishment, sadness, and anticipation all come to mind. It can feel like the end of something, which it is, but it is also the beginning of an era of endless possibilities for students. Once you have the time, knowledge, income, and courage to do so, life after college can be even more full than one's life at their institution. The world awaits all the recent graduates to do whatever they so choose, and it's something students should work hard to take full advantage of.

As higher education faculty and staff members, here are three key pointers to give to your students in order to encourage their personal growth and their thirst for learning after college."Keep on Being a Student"

There are numerous ways to keep on learning in the classroom like you're used to. You can keep taking one off classes at institutions near you, you can take classes online with established colleges and universities, or you can take advantage of the plethora of other web-based learning tools. Everything from Lynda.com, udemy, Codecademy, or even YouTube can help you learn new skills, master new software or tools, or even just learn some fun trivia. A lot of things can be found for free too, which is even more awesome!

 

"Travel the Country (and the World!)"

Whether for business or for pleasure, traveling around to new places can be an amazing learning experience. Even just going to visit a friend in a new city locally can help you understand more about what makes us all different and what makes us all the same. You can take in local sights, museums, fairs, festivals, and shows to build a list of cool and unique experiences to the fabric of your life. It's hard to capture the immense importance of traveling, but it's such a great way to become more acutely aware of the world that you just can't replicate. I encourage you to get out as much as you reasonably can so you can learn and grow as a person (and have some fun in the process!).

"Read!"

Since graduating and being done with college for the foreseeable future, it's been nice to have the time to read for pleasure. Some of you may not want to see another book for a while, but trust me that it is a tried and true (and often cheap) avenue to better yourself. There are classic works, new writing by cool current authors, and even several comic books (I'm personally a big fan) that can convey some deep concepts that enlighten you to morals about life. I've always heard that it doesn't matter what you read, it's that you read. So by all means, it can be that you read a lot of articles online about any number of things, just make sure you're keeping current on the world and reading something every once in a while for pleasure. You'll thank yourself later for it.

If you follow these tips in whatever way makes sense for you, you'll grow, learn, and be active mentally (and physically) which will help you better achieve any other goals in your life or career that you might have.

 

Go forth and do good, Class of 2015!