Embrace the maze and mess and multifaceted realm of online study that WILL continue to change and that WILL continue to be recognised by employers, educators and new students.
I have been studying online since October, 2013 and after taking part in close to fifty MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and various other online resources I can safely say that the best place to dive into this realm of collected knowledge is...
I have been studying online since October, 2013 and after taking part in close to fifty MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and various other online resources I can safely say that the best place to dive into this realm of collected knowledge is...
.. anywhere.
That is the simple answer.
There is no point even attempting to provide yourself with an overview before embracing the online learning arena because new MOOCs are being launched weekly and the parameters of this revolution (and it really is a revolution) continue to expand and change.
Therefore, this blog post is not an overview, it is an approach to getting started.
Therefore, this blog post is not an overview, it is an approach to getting started.
In a nutshell - just dive in and find your way as you go.
The importance of nurturing proactive adaptability through your studies in order to attain career fulfilment
The first MOOC I undertook was The Future of Storytelling which was recommended to me by one of my tutors shortly after I graduated from university.
An online course that dealt with how storytelling is changing in relation to the introduction of new technologies in many ways picked up where my studies at university in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies had left off and, therefore, was a very good place for me to begin my online learning odyssey.
An online course that dealt with how storytelling is changing in relation to the introduction of new technologies in many ways picked up where my studies at university in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies had left off and, therefore, was a very good place for me to begin my online learning odyssey.
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| My very first Statement of Accomplishment. |
However, even if I was familiar with some of the foundation knowledge, the actual experience of sitting in front of my computer, taking notes from video lectures, participating in discussion forums and submitting electronic exams was a completely new experience for me.
And it took a great deal of adjustment, but the best way to become accustomed to this type of experience is to just stick with it, which is exactly what I did. I just stuck with it, completed The Future of Storytelling, undertook another MOOC, completed it, undertook another, so on and so forth...
Now learning online is just the norm for me.
Now learning online is just the norm for me.
Moreover, through the course of this persistence, I have acquired an invaluable skill that a structured course of study would be hard pressed to teach and install within its students.
This skill I refer to as proactive adaptability.
The ability to positively embrace change and quickly re-adjust yourself to the introduction of new parameters and processes.
If you are studying for career advancement with the aim of gaining job security then I promise you that proactive adaptability is a skill that will serve you very well in the long run.
Those safe little careers of yesteryear that would hold your hand until you were 65 are all going to a land far, far away to live happily ever after... without you.
Job-hopping is becoming the new career norm simply because it is more cost effective to hire short-term and acquire expertise on an assignment-by-assignment basis.
And successful job-hopping requires proactive adaptability.
Job-hopping is the new career security and proactive adaptability will ensure that you always have more jobs to hop to.
Therefore, embrace the maze and mess and multifaceted realm of online study that WILL continue to change and that WILL continue to be more and more so recognised by employers, educators and new students.
It's still early days for online education, but, be under no illusion, it is not going anywhere and it is a disruption that enables anyone with an internet connection to gain entry to knowledge and expertise that would have once cost them thousands and thousands of pounds.
I gave up undertaking a £6000 masters course simply because I had covered the masters' curriculum within many of the MOOCs I had undertaken.
I do not have a masters degree, but I have the knowledge and a proactive adaptability that only cost be some time and persistence.
And considering how much undervalued degrees have become with employers and in general, possessing the knowledge and proactive adaptability in regards to my career focus (in my case entrepreneurship) is worth much more than possessing a masters degree that would have just put me into additional debt.
Do not write off online learning, because it really is worth it!
Anywhere is too much - My advice on where to start
Firstly...
Sign up to the free self-paced course:
In short this course will benefit you even outside of online learning as it teaches you various invaluable techniques on how to break down vast arrays of knowledge as well as how to ensure that you retain that information.
Learning how to Learn - trailer
You know all those supposed techniques of learning you had hammered into you at school - delete them!
Learning how to Learn teaches you how to learn the smart way and it is all drawn from the latest neuroscience research being conducted into learning and memory, so you will be in the hands of educators who know what they are talking about.
Therefore buy yourself a notebook and take plenty of notes, but rewrite the lecture points out in your own words, as your brain will much more likely to retain the information - this was a tip I acquired from the course, so it obviously works!
I only wish I had undertaken this course BEFORE I undertook the many other courses I have undertaken.
Oh, well, you live and learn - that is the point of proactive adaptability.
Secondly...
Find your own way, sign up to MOOCs based on what your projected career focus is or just what are your general interests.
MOOCs Addicts is a good facebook group to join if you have question, want some guidance or need some MOOC suggestions.
Or just type "your interests/focus MOOC" into google and see what comes up.
Or just type "your interests/focus MOOC" into google and see what comes up.
Finally...
While they are not the only MOOC hosting platforms out there, the following list indicates some very good platforms to begin with...
Offers free and signature track paid courses with Statement of Accomplishments issued on the successful completion of most free courses and Verified Certificates issued on the successful completion of all paid signature track courses.
Offers exclusively free courses that come with Certificates of Achievement on the successful completion of a course.
Offers free courses, with new courses being added monthly, and a Statement of Participation can be purchased on the successful completion of a course.
Offers free courses that issue Statements of Participation on the successful completion of a course; with the option to pay for a verified route of study that will issue you a verified Statement of Accomplishment on the successful completion of a course.
One of the first online learning platforms. This platform has all of the earning materials for its paid degree courses freely available to access, but no statements of completion. This platform relies much more on a proactive learning habit, as there is less direction in regards to how to absorb all of the materials; it really is just a case of getting stuck in and finding your own way.
No idea, as I have not used them yet, but I keep reading good things about them, so what I would say is exercise a bit of proactive adaptability and find out for yourself.
Podcasts + YouTube
Do not underestimate these platforms, as they give you access to ever expanding knowledge.
Listening to over one hundred different podcast shows and well over four thousand hours of content has completely reconfigured my world-job-personal-everything-view... but that is a whole other blog post.
My approach
Start with Learning how to Learn.
Really invest your time and attention to gaining the most out of completing it.
Then sign up to another MOOC that is concerned with your area(s) of interest or career focus(es) and then just take things from there.
If it does not quite work, just try something else.
That's the great thing about online content, there's always additional stuff out there.
My approach
Start with Learning how to Learn.
Really invest your time and attention to gaining the most out of completing it.
Then sign up to another MOOC that is concerned with your area(s) of interest or career focus(es) and then just take things from there.
If it does not quite work, just try something else.
That's the great thing about online content, there's always additional stuff out there.
Ultimately, all of this ever expanding and (mostly) free education content - you would have to be stark raving mad not to exploit it.
So get proactive and adapt!
