My Postgraduate 2.0 Studies Page

The following is the studies page that was originally accessed via the page tab under the banner for the Ways 2 Interface blog. 

The studies page listed all the MOOCs I was studying between 2013 and 2015 as part of what was then known as my postgraduate 2.0 studies. 

It also included my education prior to my postgraduate pursuits.

My postgraduate 2.0 studies later morphed into my MTA Portfolio which is now housed on its own website: ibuiltmyown.education. 

 My Studies: thinking outside of the box 

What follows are mainly all the MOOCs/online courses I have been taking since October, 2013. Additionally, there are details on my education prior to undertaking my MOOC studies and other independent research.

Some courses were completed in a fixed time period and others I am still dipping into on a self-paced basis.

Current priorities...

University of Maryland on Coursera, 01/12/2014 - present
Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business
A specialisation sequence comprised of:

1. Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship, 01/12/2014 - 12/01/2015 & 23/02/2015 - 29/03/2015, completed with distinction: verified certificate awarded
2. Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace, 05/01/2015 - 15/02/2015 & 25/05/2015 - 05/07/2015, completed with distinction: verified certificate awarded
3. New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs, 09/02/2015 - 22/03/2015 & 29/06/2015 - 09/08/2015
4. Entrepreneurship Capstone, 28/09/2015 - 08/11/2015

Yonsei University on Coursera, 28/07/2015 - present
Emerging Technologies: From Smartphone to IOT to Big Data

A specialisation sequence comprised of:

1. Smartphone Emerging Technologies
2. Big Data, Cloud Computing & CND Emerging Technologies
3. Internet Emerging Technologies
4. Internet of Things & Augment Reality Emerging Technologies
5. Wireless Communication Emerging Technologies
6. Emerging Technologies Capstone

University of California Irvine on Coursera, 03/06/2015 - present
Career Success
A specialisation sequence comprised of:

1. Project Management: The Basics for Success
2. Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal and Professional Productivity
3. Finance for Non-Financial Professionals
4. Communication in the 21st Century Workplace
5. High-Impact Business Writing
6. The Art of Negotiation
7. Fundamentals of Management
8. Effective-Problem Solving and Decision-Making
9. Essentials of Entrepreneurship: Thinking & Action
10. Career Success Capstone Project

In addition to all of the research and work I am conducting around these specializations, I consider these programs of study to be equivalent to the effort I would have put into undertaking a traditional masters degree, hence why these are my current study my priorities.

Dabbled & Ongoing...

Loughborough University on FutureLearn, 25/07/2015 - present
Numeracy Skills for Employability and the Workplace

Wesleyan University on Coursera, 05/06/2015 - present
Social Psychology

Headspace, 14/02/2015 - present
My Headspace Mindfulness Meditation

Copyblogger, 18/02/2015 - present
My Copyblogger Training

A copywriting course comprised of:

1. Copywriting 101: How to Craft Compelling Copy
2. How to Write Magnetic Headlines
3. How to Create Compelling Content that Ranks Well in Search Engines
4. Content Marketing: How to Build an Audience that Builds Your Business
5. The Business Case for Agile Content Marketing
6. A Content Marketing Strategy that Works
7. How to Create Content that Converts
8. How to Effectively Promote Your Content
9. Content Marketing Research: The Crucial First Step
10. How to Build Authority through Content and Google Authorship
11. Email Marketing: How to Push Send and Grow Your Business
12. Keyword Research: A Real-World Guide
13. Landing Pages: How to Turn Traffic into Money
14. 10 Rock Solid Elements of Effective Online Marketing
15. Internet Marketing for Smart People: Classic Edition

The Open University on FutureLearn, 19/08/2014 - present, incomplete and open
Managing my Money
#FLMyMoney15

University of East Anglia on FutureLearn, 06/04/2014 - present, incomplete and open
The Secret Power of Brands
#FLbrands

University of Southampton on FutureLearn, 11/02/2014 - present, incomplete
Web Science: How the Web is Changing the World 
#FLwebsci 

The Hague Institute for Global Justice on iversity, 10/12/2013 - present, incomplete 
Public Privacy: Cyber Security and Human Rights

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on edX, 17/02/2015 - presentDocumentary: New Trends, New Formats

McGill University on edX, 25/02/2015 - present
The Body Matters

The University of Chicago on Coursera, 23/02/2015 - present
Understanding the Brain: The Neuroscience of Everyday Life

Filmmaker IQ
Filmmaker IQ Courses

The University of Sheffield on FutureLearn, 29/09/2014 - present, incomplete and open
Exploring Play: The Importance of Play in Everyday Life
#FLplay

National Film and Television School on FutureLearn, 02/02/2015 - present
Explore Filmmaking: From Script to Screen
#FLExploreFilm

University of London on Coursera, 26/06/2015 - present
The Camera Never Lies



Completed...


Ball State University on Canvas Network, 05/06/2015 - 03/08/2015, completed: certificate awarded
TCM Presents Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir

Yonsei University on Coursera, 24/07/2015 - 28/07/2015
Emerging Smartphone Technologies

University of California, Irvine on Coursera, 22/07/2015 - 25/07/2015
Fundamentals of Management

University of California, Irvine on Coursera, 13/06/2015 - 18/06/2015
Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making

University of California, Irvine on Coursera, 03/06/2015 - 10/06/2015, Passed
Finance for Non-Financial Professionals

Wesleyan University on Coursera, 02/02/2015 - 11/03/2015, completed: certificate awarded
The Language of Hollywood: Storytelling, Sound and Colour

Wageningen University on edX, 08/01/2015 - 16/03/2015, completed
Introduction to Nutrition: Food for Health
#NUTR101x

RMIT University on Open2Study, 05/01/2015 - 03/02/2015, completed: certificate awarded
Foundations of Psychology
#IntroPsy

RMIT University on Open2Study, 05/01/2015 - 03/02/2015, completed: certificate awarded
The Art of Photography
#phot

University of Southampton on FutureLearn, 17/11/2014 - 12/12/2014, completed
Understanding Language: Learning and Teaching
#FLlanguage

University of Auckland on FutureLearn, 10/11/2014 - 15/11/2014, completed
Academic Integrity: Values, Skills, Action
#FLintegrity

University of Southampton on FutureLearn, 14/10/2014 - 30/10/2014, completed
Digital Marketing: Challenges and Insights
#FLdigital

The Open University on FutureLearn, 13/09/2014 - 25/11/2014, completed
Introduction to Cyber Security
#FLcybersec

University of California, San Diego on Coursera, 09/10/2014 - 09/11/2014, completed
Learning how to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects

Coursera, 28/09/2014 - 22/12/2014, completed with distinction: certificate awarded
Internet History, Technology and Security

University of Leeds on FutureLearn, 18/09/2014 - 29/09/2014, completed
Innovation: The Key to Business Success
#FLbizinnovation

Open2Study, 15/09/2014 - 15/10/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Big Data for Better Performance
#BigData

Open Training Institute on Open2Study, 11/08/2014 - 09/09/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Strategic Management
#StratMgt

Sydney Institute on Open2Study, 11/08/2014 - 09/09/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Financial Planning
#FinPlan

University of Leeds on FutureLearn, 19/08/2014 - 23/08/2014, completed
Starting a Business: Realise Your Vision
#FLstartup

University of Southampton on FutureLearn, 07/07/2014 - 18/08/2014, completed
Developing Your Research Project 
#FLcuriosity

Loughborough University on FutureLearn, 10/06/2014 - 18/08/2014, completed
Innovation and Enterprise
#FLinnovation

University of London on Coursera, 02/06/2014 - 04/07/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Understanding Research Methods

The University of Nottingham on FutureLearn, 21/04/2014 - 02/06/2014, completed
How to read a mind (cognitive poetics)
#FLread

ICMS on Open2Study,  22/03/2014 - 22/04/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Management for a Competitive Edge
#MgtEdge

MGSM on Open2Study, 22/03/2014 - 22/04/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

MGSM on Open2Study, 22/03/2014 - 22/04/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power
#LEAD

Polytechnic West on Open2Study, 07/02/2014 - 10/03/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Principles of Project Management
#ProjMgt

Open2Study, 07/02/2014 - 10/03/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Online Advertising
#OnlineAd

Macquarie University on Open2Study, 07/02/2014 - 10/03/2014, completed: certficate awarded
Financial Literacy
#FinLitrc

University of Birmingham on FutureLearn, 27/02/2014 - 13/02/2014, completed
Good Brain, Bad Brain: Basics (Neurobiology)
#FLbrain

Maquarie University on Open2Study, 03/01/2014 - 06/02/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Becoming Human: Anthropology
#BeHuman

Open2Study, 03/01/2014 - 06/02/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Food, Nutrition and Health
#FoodHlth

Open2Study, 03/01/2014 - 06/02/2014, completed: certificate awarded
Writing for the Web
#WriteWeb

iversity, 25/09/2013-24/12/2013, completed: awarded certificate 
The Future of Storytelling
#storymooc

Abandoned...

Creative Coding

Scandinavian Film and Television

Human Rights

Origins: Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth and Life

Northwestern University on Coursera, 04/06/2014 - present, incomplete and closed
Understanding Media by Understanding Google

MGSM on Open2Study, 11/08/2014 - 09/09/2014, incomplete and closed
Diagnosing the Financial Health of a Business
#FinHlth

University of Glasgow on Coursera, 07/11/2013 - 09/12/2013
E-Learning and Digital Cultures

Traditional education...

Bath Spa University, 2009-2013

First Class BA (Hons) Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies

Modules:

• Writers' Workshop 1
• Introduction to Scriptwriting
• Explorations in Prose Fiction
• Introduction to Film
• Framing Film: From Silent Screen to World Cinema
• Writers' Workshop 2
• Film Theory and Criticism: Understanding Hollywood
• Planning and Making a Film
• Short Form Documentary Making - Fencing
• Creative Enterprise Project (practical dissertation) - E Y E S
• Film Dissertation (theoretical dissertation) - Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle

The Sixth Form College, Farnborough, 2006-08

A-Level Film Studies (B)

A-Level Photography (C)

A-Level Philosophy (D)
AS-Level Media Studies (A)

GCSE Mathematics resit (C)

Kings International College for Business and the Arts, 2001-06

GCSE Art (A)

GCSE English Literature (B) 

GCSE English Language (B)

GCSE Geography (B)

GCSE Food Technology (C)

GCSE Religious Studies (C)

GCSE Physical Education (C)

GCSE Mathematics (D)

GNVQ Applied Business (BB)

GNVQ Information Communication Technology (C)

GNVQ Science (C)

Innovation for Entrepreneurs - Passed with DISTINCTION

I have now completed Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace, the second course in my Entrepreneurship Specialisation, and I have passed with distinction!

My Innovation for Entrepreneurs signature track certificate and course participation details can viewed by clicking on this link.

Next up in my specialisation is to complete the exams for Funding for Entrepreneurs and numbers were never really my strong point...

New Year and plenty of new MOOCs to study

As ever I am studying multiple things at the same time and I have signed up for plenty of MOOCs throughout 2015.

However, I have now started four new MOOCs:

Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace

University of Maryland on Coursera, 05/01/2015 - 15/02/2015

This is the second MOOC in my Entrepreneurship Specialisation and, as with the first, the workload is already starting to build up, but I am gaining a huge understanding from the MOOC's content and practice.

The Art of Photography

RMIT University on Open2Study, 05/01/2015 - 03/02/2015

#phot

As I have already studied photography previous, this MOOC is really just a refresher and is aimed specifically at providing me with assistance in Digital SLR filming for a number of projects that I have planned this year.

Foundations of Psychology

RMIT University on Open2Study, 05/01/2015 - 03/02/2015

#IntroPsy

For many years I have read an awful lot about psychology, new breakthroughs and the subjects implications on our ways of being. However, I have never had an introductory overview to the subject and as the Open2Study courses tend to be quite compact, I figured this was the best and quickest way for me to gain a consolidated overview of the field of psychology.

Introduction to Nutrition: Food for Health

Wageningen University on edX, 08/01/2015 - 09/03/2015
#NUTR101x

I have been getting my health in shape for many years now and over the last three I have placed particular emphasis on my nutritional intake. I have tried various different forms of nourishment and eating patterns as a result. I am now ready to finally consolidate all of the research and studying I have been doing into one systemic lifestyle that I can do as a daily habit and adjust accordingly. 

I have intentionally left this transition to the beginning of 2015 and this MOOC marks my first step in bringing about this systematic consolidation at the beginning of a new year.

Furthermore it will undoubtedly crop up in my 365 FRAMES 2015 project, so there will be no quitting - I will achieve this transition!

"This is a - excuse me - a damn fine cup of green tea."

There is a lot planned for 2015 and all systems are go...

A study day (one of many)... #365Frames2015

I was studying one of the bonus lectures in The First Step in Entrepreneurship...

A study day.

Day 006 of my 365 Project, 365 FRAMES 2015, in which I will be producing a short video for each day of 2015.

365 FRAMES 2015: Day 006

See my 365 Project here.

Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business - specialisation is a go

One of the primary focuses for all of the studying I have been doing over the past year has been to demystify the many intimidating intricacies of entrepreneurship. 

However, in order to now consolidate all of the disparate pieces of that learning, in addition to bridging any gaps that still remain in my knowledge, I have enrolled myself on the Entrepreneurship: Launching an Innovative Business specialisation as offered by the University of Maryland on Coursera.

A brief overview of the specialisation.

Being a specialisation this is a little different to the MOOCs I have taken in the past, mainly because it is made up of three separate MOOCs; with a final capstone project in which I will have to produce a portfolio demonstrating my learning from the three MOOCs. 

I am also paying for this one.

However, at the successful completion of the full cycle of the specialisation I will have gained a verified specialisation certificate and, hopefully, I will finally possess a thorough and working knowledge of the entrepreneurial process.

Specilisations (combining MOOCs) are a new offering my coursera, no doubt other platforms with follow.

The specialisation is broken down into the following subject areas and timespans: 

1. Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship, 01/12/2014 - 01/01/2015
2. Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace, 05/01/2015 - 05/02/2015
3. New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs, 09/02/2015 - 09/03/2015
4. Entrepreneurship Capstone, 02/03/2015 - 20/04/2015

I am already three weeks into the first MOOC and I am already finding the workload to be pretty intensive, but hugely rewarding! 

I have spent a good while looking/waiting for an adequate online entrepreneurship course to undertake and this specialisation looks and feels like it really does fit the bill. 

I have already undertaken a few others on FutureLearn - Innovation and Enterprise, Starting a Business: Realise Your Vision,  Innovation: The Key to Business Success - and while these did provide many useful insights (which will be invaluable here), overall they just felt a little too loose and in many ways they lacked the no-nonsense cohesive approach of this specialisation. 

#3 Overall Business Course on Coursera.

The first MOOC of the specialisation was named the #1 entrepreneurship course on coursera and the University of Maryland's Master of Technology Entrepreneurship, which this specialisation is sourced from, also looks very promising, so I feel like I am in safe hands with this specialisation. 

I will not be posting a reflection for each week of the specialisation, as that will not be manageable in terms of time or the amount of content I would have to cover. Instead I will be posting a learning reflection at the end of each of the three MOOCs, with maybe a few additional relevant posts here or there. 

And the capstone? 

Well, no idea. I will deal with that one when I get there. 

If I get there that is... 

Current MOOCs as of 17/11/2014

I am still in the process of reconfiguring this blog into being a study log, so things are still a bit all over the place. Additionally, it does not help that I thrive on diving into multiple focuses at the same time.

However, as of 17/11/2014, the MOOCs I am actively studying are:

Internet History, Technology and Security (5 weeks left)
Introduction to Cyber Security (3 weeks left)
Origins - Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth and Life (4 weeks left)
Understanding Languages: Learning and Teaching (5 weeks left)

Ways #2Learn: expanding my focus by expanding this blog's focus

I am finding that my creative entrepreneurial practice and self-directed postgraduate study is proving to be vastly more beneficial and fulfilling than a pre-arranged master's degree. Therefore, for the time being, I am staying off the conventional path, while I continue to explore the wilderness.

When I first started this blog and its research focus I described it as being something new and fantastic.

But is it actually something new and fantastic?

I don't know.

But from my point of view it is, because this overall project-and-blog-thing is very much tied up with my larger personal development aims, so naturally I have a great deal of enthusiasm invested in the overall focus of Ways 2 Interface.

Recently, mainly due to various pieces of equipment failing me, my childhood interest in electronics has been revived. More on this later...

This blog started its life as a research focus extension of the concerns of my First Class BA (Hons) in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies and, in particular, the focuses of my two final year dissertations: EYES (practical dissertation) and Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle (award-winning theoretical dissertation). 

Hence, the name of this blog: Ways 2 Interface a.k.a. Round 2.

Welcome #2Interface - my original intention for this blog (you don't have to read it).

However, the initial focus of just presenting my extended research and considerations never felt quite right - it always felt incomplete. After essentially writing another dissertation spread across the first four posts of this blog, I decided to reassess its situation and where exactly I stood in regards to my academic interests.

Why #2Interface: expanding my focus + focusing my interests = mastering the enterprising researcher - my reassessment of this blog and its focus (again, you do not need to read this).

Ultimately, this project was always building towards a master's degree in Creative Technologies and Enterprise that I was very interested in undertaking (there is still a huge maybe hanging over this) and, when I reassessed the situation in regards to my postgraduate education, it occurred to me what was really missing from this blog - MOOCs!

The many different MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) I had undertaken throughout the later of 2013 and the full breadth of 2014. 

Follow Peter's board MOOC-tastic on Pinterest.

MOOC-tastic - a pinterest board collecting together the many MOOCs I have and I am enrolled upon.

From the many different disciplines of the MOOCs I have studied, it is clear to see that I have a hybrid focus that extends far beyond the creative writing and film focus of my BA (Hons).

Basically - my MOOCs, the vast swathes of time they have eaten up and the reflections they have nurtured me to produce on various different aspects of my overall education and creative application - are very much an expression of my expanded hybrid focus.

I had to replace some of the components in my computer monitor and I also used the previous power board (top center) to generate a new background for this blog.

Additionally, I am finding that my creative entrepreneurial practice and self-directed postgraduate study is proving to be vastly more beneficial and fulfilling than a pre-arranged masters degree. Therefore, for the time being, I am staying off the conventional path, while I continue to explore the wilderness.

Finally, why in sanity's name was I not talking about all of this and refining my focus even more so on this perfectly suited blog!

So I am now.

Welcome #2interface.

Ways #2Learn: expanding my focus by expanding this blog's focus

I am finding that my creative entrepreneurial focused practice and self-directed postgraduate study is proving to be vastly more beneficial and fulfilling than a pre-arranged masters degree. Therefore, for the time being, I am staying off the conventional path, while I continue to explore the wilderness.

When I first started this blog and its research focus I described it as being something new and fantastic.

But is it actually something new and fantastic?

I don't know.

But from my point of view it is, because this overall project-and-blog-thing is very much tied up with my larger personal development aims, so naturally I have a great deal of enthusiasm invested in the overall focus of Ways 2 Interface.

Recently, mainly due to various pieces of equipment failing me, my childhood interest in electronics has been revived. More on this later...

This blog started its life as a research focus extension of the concerns of my First Class BA (Hons) in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies and, in particular, the focuses of my two final year dissertations: EYES (practical dissertation) and Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle (award-winning theoretical dissertation). 

Hence, the name of this blog: Ways 2 Interface a.k.a. Round 2.

Welcome #2Interface - my original intention for this blog (you don't have to read it).

However, the initial focus of just presenting my extended research and considerations never felt quite right - it always felt incomplete. After essentially writing another dissertation spread across the first four posts of this blog, I decided to reassess its situation and where exactly I stood in regards to my academic interests.

Why #2Interface: expanding my focus + focusing my interests = mastering the enterprising researcher - my reassessment of this blog and its focus (again, you do not need to read this).

Ultimately, this project was always building towards a masters degree in Creative Technologies and Enterprise that I was very interested in undertaking (there is still a huge maybe hanging over this) and, when I reassessed the situation in regards to my postgraduate education, it occurred to me what was really missing from this blog - MOOCs!

The many different MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) I had undertaken throughout the later of 2013 and the full breadth of 2014. 

Follow Peter's board MOOC-tastic on Pinterest.

MOOC-tastic - a pinterest board collecting together the many MOOCs I have and I am enrolled upon.

From the many different disciplines of the MOOCs I have studied, it is clear to see that I have a hybrid focus that extends far beyond the creative writing and film focus of my BA (Hons).

Basically - my MOOCs, the vast swathes of time they have eaten up and the reflections they have nurtured me to produce on various different aspects of my overall education and creative application - are very much an expression of my expanded hybrid focus.

I had to replace some of the components in my computer monitor and I also used the previous power board (top center) to generate a new background for this blog.

Additionally, I am finding that my creative entrepreneurial focused practice and self-directed postgraduate study is proving to be vastly more beneficial and fulfilling than a pre-arranged masters degree. Therefore, for the time being, I am staying off the conventional path, while I continue to explore the wilderness.

Finally, why in sanity's name was I not talking about all of this and refining my focus even more so on this perfectly suited blog!

So I am now.

Welcome #2interface.

Learning how to Learn #MOOC: Reflective Essay about a Learning Challenge

Currently I am undertaking the Learning how to Learn: powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects MOOC by UC San Diego that is hosted on Coursera and that I would highly recommend, I wish I had done this MOOC a year ago when I started my online studying!

As part of the course I have to submit two short essays. However, I missed the deadline for the first essay, I got the 1 day quiz extension deadline mixed up with the assessment deadline!

Anyway, I have decided to post that first essay on this blog. The essay is split across five question/sections and I have added a few illustrative items for anyone who is not aware of the Learning how to Learn course contents.

I have been thinking about using Ways 2 Interface to act as a reflection platform for my online/extended learning; especially considering I was going to use it to chronicle the research and study for the MSc I may be undertaking next September.

Basically, I am already won on the idea and more posts will follow, but for now here is a short essay about a balancing learning challenge I am in the process of overcoming...

1.   Briefly describe your current learning situation and goal (College sophomore aiming for a degree in language? High school student unsure of your future major but enjoying math and physics? Retired, in your mid-sixties and exploring the idea of learning something completely new?)

I am a recent graduate of Bath Spa University and now possess a First Class BA (Hons) in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies. I have been described as a “hybrid student”, as I possess interests in a wide array of fields that extend beyond the focus of my degree - everything from anthropology to entrepreneurship. Since graduating over a year ago, I have continued to expand my studying into these further fields via online learning and research.

I have been accepted onto a Masters program in Creative Technologies and Enterprise, but whether I undertake this MSc program will be determined by how much I achieve in my current studies and how I am putting that knowledge into practice.

Coming soon!

Ultimately, the goal of my current learning situation is concerned with nurturing my creative entrepreneurial temperament.

2. Briefly describe the learning aim that is of importance to you (it may be passing a particular class, excelling in a particular degree program, or something outside school, such as mastering culinary expertise).

Working for myself and making a living based around my passions.

While I enjoy learning and discovering new things, the point of all this extended learning I am currently undertaking is less concerned with mastering each subject and more focused on nurturing my overall creative thinking.

Increasingly, technology is making people redundant in “traditional” career roles; only this month, Tim Berners-Lee speculated:

“Some things are going to completely disappear and obviously more boring jobs go first. As computers get smarter it’s possible that they start to take some of the things we used to find more interesting – creating drugs, for instance, and certainly for now the boring bits of doing your taxes. The important thing is we find ways for people to do the exciting creative fun jobs that never existed before” (Berners-Lee in Warman, M. 'Computers are getting smarter. We’re not' [online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/11148220/Berners-Lee-Computers-are-getting-smarter.-Were-not.html)

In today’s and tomorrow’s world, mastering one career focused craft is not enough, not by a long shot. 

I am not saying that you have to know everything, but certainly being in a position where you can create your own opportunities by utilising your creative thinking is not something to be either scoffed at or intimidated by – it is what livelihoods will be built upon. Increasingly, it is also something that education has to get to grips with encouraging in students!

Therefore, you could say that my learning aim is to unlearn traditional practices or at least to develop the aptitude to approach them with a critical eye and creatively rethink them where necessary.

3. Describe your biggest mental challenges in achieving your learning aim

Balance – focussed mode with the diffuse mode.

The lecture on focused and diffuse modes from the MOOC.

I am always juggling multiple subjects and that is fine, but only when you give each subject its time, its place and its appropriate attention.

I do not have time to trawl through every detail and I have to avoid the urge of over-indulging myself too much when studying one particular area. However, I also have to ensure that I spend time away from studying.

Power naps are good reboots for the brain.

Ultimately, this one is about disciplining myself to ensure that I do not get too carried away, but equally that I allow time and space for myself to get carried away – balancing the focused attention with the diffuse state.

4. Outline existing research or learning techniques from this course that are relevant to your challenges.

Existing research

Mlodinow, L. Subliminal: The New Unconscious and What it Teaches Us. London: Penguin Books.

Collecting together the new discoveries of neuroscience, Dr Mlodinov paints a radically up-to-date image of how the human brain actually functions.

“Conscious thought is a great aid in designing a car or deciphering the mathematical laws of nature, but for avoiding snake bites or cars that swerve into your path or people who may harm you, only the speed and efficiency of the unconscious can save you. As we’ll see, to ensure our smooth functioning in both the physical and the social world nature has dictated that may processes of perception, memory, attention, learning, and judgement are delegated to brain structures outside conscious awareness” (Mlodinov, 2012:18).

If you can provide yourself with an overview of how the human brain actually works, on a psychological and neurobiological basis, you will stop expecting impossible things of it. The odds are you will become more effective at exploiting its inherent working methods in any endeavour.

Working my way through Subliminal had much the same effect as watching the lectures by Dr Sejnowski in this MOOC; in particular the week 2 lecture: What motivates you?

Ultimately, I found my attitudes and preconceptions about my working habits changing. The biggest lesson I took from Subliminal is not to consciously tax my brain so much and the content of this MOOC has only back up that assertion even more so!

Your brain works at its best when you get it consciously focused and then let it be unconsciously diffuse.

Foer, J. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. London: Penguin Books.

Adopting a personal narrative, science journalist Joshua Foer embarks on an exploration into the processes underpinning human memory; while simultaneously adopting this knowledge to train himself for US Memory Championship – an event he ultimately wins.

“memory training is a form of mental workout. Over time, like any other form of exercise, it’ll make the brain fitter, quicker, and more nimble. It’s an idea that dates back to the very origins of memory training. Roman orators argued that the art of memory – the proper retention and ordering of knowledge – was a vital instrument for the invention of new ideas” (Foer, 2011:12).

As with understanding how the overall human brain works, understanding how it actually absorbs and retains information is equally paramount if you want to become a successful learner. Quite a few of the learning techniques touched on in this MOOC are explored in the book – especially chunking. However, visualisation – converting information into striking interior visuals - is another key technique:

“The more vivid the image, the more likely it is to cleave to its locus. What distinguishes a great mnemonist, I was learning, is the ability to create these sorts of lavish images on the fly, to paint a scene so unlike any that has been seen before that it cannot be forgotten. And to do it quickly.” (Foer, 2011:100).

Visualisation Technique

Successful memorisation of information involves a great deal of conscious and unconscious creativity – in the same way that you always forget things, reading a book or just watching a lecture is not enough to retain information. This is the key lesson I took from Moonwalking with Einstein and have increasingly been adopting in my everyday life.

Remembering that it is also impossible for your brain to remember everything is another key lesson that I took from the book!

Learning techniques from this course

Pomodoro technique – I had previously not known about this technique, but instantly adopted it after watching its respective lecture. I have already noticed an improvement in my productivity. Adopting this technique has allowed me to schedule essential diffuse downtime into my daily schedule.

Chunking and interleaving – continuing to utilise chunking makes absolute sense if I am going to be focused in 25 minute bursts and interleaving these chunks will make those 25 minute bursts even time effective, as I do criss-cross between various different subjects and disciplines on a daily basis; in fact, a number of times already I have noticed myself using knowledge from one discipline to illustrate something from another, such as with neuroscience and narratology.

Ultimately, the research I have previously examined and the content of this MOOC have shown me, with a great deal testimony, that it really does pay to stop working your so consciously hard all of the time.

Find balance and you will find success.

5. Propose how you will apply research findings or learning techniques to help you overcome your challenges.

Practice. Reflection. Refinement.

Aside from the pomodoro technique, I have already put into practice the advice of my prior study and also the advice (so far) of this MOOC. However, just sticking to doing something the same way for too long can very easily make you become complacent and then you can become less effective, which is exactly why reflection is always key and why I always exercise it. In fact, the reason why I signed up to this MOOC was so that I could take a step back, reflect on my current learning situation and then refine my habits even more so. This MOOC has proven to be invaluable in that respect and look forward to the content of weeks 3 and 4.

However, understanding that the balancing of my focused and diffused states is not the problem. Consistently putting it into practice is not the problem, the problem is making it into a daily habit.

According to a study by psychology researcher Phillipa Lally:

Lally, P. (2009) ‘How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world’. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40 (6), PP.988-1000 [online]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.674/abstract.

In order for a habit to become second nature, it can take anywhere between 60 to 240 days to successful form a new habit and to strengthen the respective neural connects in your brain.

Therefore, the solution to my challenge is simple – I just have to keep implementing the pomodoro technique on a daily basis and, through the course of doing so, my diffuse and focused states will become more and more intuitively balanced.

To build a muscle you have to tear it many times over, but in order for those tears to grow back stronger, you have to allow them time to repair. Additionally, in order to avoid getting stuck at a workout plateau, you have to keep reviewing and refining your approach.

Practice. Reflection. Refinement.

Anyhow, my 25 minutes are up now, I’m going to have a cup of tea…