By Adrienne Erin
With a slew of modern resources at your fingertips, learning something new can be as easy as logging onto your computer. You can learn about the simplest of topics that will pump up your trivia knowledge or you can discover something that will completely change your life. Regardless of the complexity, you should strive to learn something new every day. Doing so will not only enrich your brain, but it can also be pretty fun. So, let’s check out a few ways that you can keep learning!
1. Watch Video Tutorials YouTube has more videos than you could ever watch in your entire life, even if you didn’t even pause for a second. Why not make use of this resource by learning how to do something new? You could be learning how to tie a bowtie one day, and the next you could be learning how to effectively use Microsoft Excel. With the exponential number of videos being added to the site every day, there is basically a video about any topic that you can imagine.
2. Follow People on Twitter Did you know that you can be using social media for more than just socializing? Well, you can! Twitter is full of “content curators” who find and share interesting information based on a topic. You can learn about history through pictures (@HistoryInPics) or even increase your vocabulary with the word of the day (@TheWordOfTheDay). The best part is that you don’t even have to search to find these things on a daily basis. They will automatically appear in your feed every day, and all you have to do is scroll through them and soak in the knowledge.
3. Utilize Infographics Infographics are a great tool to use when it comes to learning about a new topic. They are a visual representation of information, thus allowing you to absorb more data in less time than it would take for you to read about it in an actual study. Infographics exist for every topic, from rankings of the world’s tallest buildings, all the way to explaining what the drug Molly does to your body and to your brain. Not sure what to search for? Check out Visual.ly to see what’s trending.
4. Enroll in an Online Course For those of you looking for a more “formal” learning experience, you can look into taking online courses. Many of which are free. These courses tend to give more background information than the previous learning methods listed above, as well as offer a more interactive or even a test-based form of learning. You can take courses on topics such as how to code or about craft beer. Whatever it is that peaks your interest, there is most likely an online course available at your disposal.
5. Browse WikiHow Chances are, you’ve already come across wikiHow. You can find step by step instructions on how to do just about anything and there are a few ways to discover something new. There is a random article button that will take you to one of their many articles, which you can keep clicking until you find something interesting. You can also browse categories such as food and entertainment if you have a general idea of what you want to learn, or you can simply search for a specific topic.
6. Watch Educational Television Even though the world of reality shows is in its prime, there are still a good number of television channels that offer educational shows that are geared towards adults, not just children. Want to learn something about science or the universe? Watch the Science Channel. Working on a home improvement project? HGTV will fit the bill. Even if you don’t have cable, you can check out documentaries on Netflix or even find reruns on the network’s website.
7. Read Something You don’t need modern technology to learn something new. People were learning for centuries without looking something up on Google (I know, it’s crazy to think about) and they managed to get by quite well. Simply go into your local public library or bookstore and pick up a book! Reading for pleasure may not be a hobby that everyone enjoys, but when you are looking to learn something new, there are a myriad of references that can be found in those archaic inventions called books. Take advantage of them before they go extinct.