Contrary to what is shown in the image above, to be an active
learner there is no need to live buried beneath a pile of books. All
learning is valuable and it may come from unexpected sources. After the
formal education years have ended many professionals think their
learning requirements have ended as well. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Unfortunately, the experiences we get as students in the
formal setting might be one factor in today's professionals' rejection
of the continuing education process that must follow.
First we must rethink the process of learning and view it as a personal, individual process in which we have total control. We decide what we want to learn, how we want to learn it and when do we want the process to take place. Below we begin our exploration of different alternatives we do have to create new learning opportunities and become active participants in the learning process and therefore in the development of our career path, personal growth and resource pool for new ideas.
Do something while you wait
The average person spends 45 to 62 minutes each day waiting for things to happen. Waiting in line at the bank, waiting while the tank gets refilled, waiting for the food to be ready, waiting for the bus to arrive, waiting for an elevator, waiting for a program to download (according to answers.google.com) This is only a short list of all the stuff in our daily lives that we need to wait for. All the while those are the perfect moments to draw upon our mobile learning tools. Ipods, Iphones and Ipads may be loaded with books and audio books about different topics and genres. There is a great array of Podcasts and Webinars to choose from that contain resources and information about your industry or field of interest.
Invest your down time wisely
Watching television has become the universal unwinding activity. We get home, we turn on the television and we forget about the world by emerging ourselves in the singular adventures and fantasy worries of others. According to http://www.csun.edu the average American watches more than 4 hours of television each day (28 hours per week). What if that time could be distributed between more enriching and self-fulfilling activities? We must think of our down time, the time that is ours to spend doing the things that are of particular interest to us, as an investment in ourselves and the development of the components that make up our reality.
Exercise your mind
Learn and play new games. You may want to look through websites specifically designed to challenge the mind like gamesforthebrain.com and playwithyourmind.com. The goal here is to give your brain the chance to face new and different challenges beyond the monotonous and routine actions and mental processes that you are required to do each day at home or at work. You may also look back at traditional table games like chess, cards, dominoes, etc, or go for the electronic versions. These might bring an additional element to the mix, the inclusion of the family. Something which may bring a new level of enrichment to you personal and professional life may be learning a new language or improve the language or languages you already know. Learning a new language or reading words in dictionaries will open up your vocabulary, verbal and written confidence, as well as give you new perspectives about cultures and lives.
Technology is your learning buddy
Books are no longer bound to libraries. Your computer, your electronic and mobile devises can connect you to the world and the knowledge the world has to offer. Do not be intimidated by technology. Use it as a tool to access the content and the resources you need to be an active learner no matter where you are, what is your level of formal education, of confidence in your technological abilities or previous experiences with both learning or technology. Create new ones, better ones.
Remember, ideas come when we take unexpected turns and try to get someplace we've been to, many times before, from a completely new direction. New possibilities open up, our frame of reference grows and the result is a new mental map. It might work, it may not, but the reference is there, the map is changed, it is improved. Do not fix yourself to only one road, to only one way to do things, to only one direction to move, to only one thing that was learned once and it's always use. Become and active learner for life. Look at the world around you, do not always wait for the moment to escape from it. Actively search to find meaning and look for the learning that it out there.
First we must rethink the process of learning and view it as a personal, individual process in which we have total control. We decide what we want to learn, how we want to learn it and when do we want the process to take place. Below we begin our exploration of different alternatives we do have to create new learning opportunities and become active participants in the learning process and therefore in the development of our career path, personal growth and resource pool for new ideas.
Do something while you wait
The average person spends 45 to 62 minutes each day waiting for things to happen. Waiting in line at the bank, waiting while the tank gets refilled, waiting for the food to be ready, waiting for the bus to arrive, waiting for an elevator, waiting for a program to download (according to answers.google.com) This is only a short list of all the stuff in our daily lives that we need to wait for. All the while those are the perfect moments to draw upon our mobile learning tools. Ipods, Iphones and Ipads may be loaded with books and audio books about different topics and genres. There is a great array of Podcasts and Webinars to choose from that contain resources and information about your industry or field of interest.
Invest your down time wisely
Watching television has become the universal unwinding activity. We get home, we turn on the television and we forget about the world by emerging ourselves in the singular adventures and fantasy worries of others. According to http://www.csun.edu the average American watches more than 4 hours of television each day (28 hours per week). What if that time could be distributed between more enriching and self-fulfilling activities? We must think of our down time, the time that is ours to spend doing the things that are of particular interest to us, as an investment in ourselves and the development of the components that make up our reality.
Exercise your mind
Learn and play new games. You may want to look through websites specifically designed to challenge the mind like gamesforthebrain.com and playwithyourmind.com. The goal here is to give your brain the chance to face new and different challenges beyond the monotonous and routine actions and mental processes that you are required to do each day at home or at work. You may also look back at traditional table games like chess, cards, dominoes, etc, or go for the electronic versions. These might bring an additional element to the mix, the inclusion of the family. Something which may bring a new level of enrichment to you personal and professional life may be learning a new language or improve the language or languages you already know. Learning a new language or reading words in dictionaries will open up your vocabulary, verbal and written confidence, as well as give you new perspectives about cultures and lives.
Technology is your learning buddy
Books are no longer bound to libraries. Your computer, your electronic and mobile devises can connect you to the world and the knowledge the world has to offer. Do not be intimidated by technology. Use it as a tool to access the content and the resources you need to be an active learner no matter where you are, what is your level of formal education, of confidence in your technological abilities or previous experiences with both learning or technology. Create new ones, better ones.
Remember, ideas come when we take unexpected turns and try to get someplace we've been to, many times before, from a completely new direction. New possibilities open up, our frame of reference grows and the result is a new mental map. It might work, it may not, but the reference is there, the map is changed, it is improved. Do not fix yourself to only one road, to only one way to do things, to only one direction to move, to only one thing that was learned once and it's always use. Become and active learner for life. Look at the world around you, do not always wait for the moment to escape from it. Actively search to find meaning and look for the learning that it out there.
Remember, ideas come when we take unexpected turns and try to get
someplace we've been to, many times before, from a completely new
direction. New possibilities open up, our frame of reference grows and
the result is a new mental map. It might work, it may not, but the
reference is there, the map is changed, it is improved. Do not fix
yourself to only one road, to only one way to do things, to only one
direction to move, to only one thing that was learned once and it's
always use. Become and active learner for life.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gabriella_Trujillo
No comments:
Post a Comment