You’ve Got the Power: How to Use Technology to Learn Whatever You Want

If you want to learn something, there’s never been a better time to be alive than now. The reason that’s not an exaggeration is the availability of affordable technology has made any type of information accessible with just a few searches. That’s why more and more people are casually or formally committing themselves to a path of lifelong learning. Regardless of age, thanks to all the advantages that technology provides, it’s never too late to learn something new.

Since it’s normal to get very excited about the prospect of using technology to enhance your learning, you may be wondering exactly how you can make that happen. To answer your question, we’re going to cover a variety of different ways that technology can assist whatever type of education you want to pursue:

Easily Dive Deeper Into Topics

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One of the best ways to fully learn a subject or finally understand a topic that seems confusing is to really dig into it. And getting online makes that quite easy to do. Simply go to Google or a speciality search engine and start looking for exactly what you want to find. Another reason this approach is quite appealing is it makes it easy to get information from a variety of quality sources. Instead of being limited to just one perspective on a topic, you can get information from different approaches that’s provided by people who are regarded as experts in their fields.

Smarter Flashcards

The reason so many people use flashcards is because they’re a simple but effective way to absorb information. That being said, the major downside to studying with flashcards is they’re not the most efficient tool. The reason is since you simply go through the same deck during each study session, you spend as much time on cards you know well as those that are still a challenge for you.

Wouldn’t it be better if there was a way to have more exposure to hard cards and less to those that are easy to remember? That’s exactly what free online solutions like Anki do. This type of flashcard is based on a learning technique known as spaced repetition. The basic principle behind spaced repetition is easy information should be shown less frequently, while harder information should be displayed more consistently.

In practice, the way this works is when you’re shown a flashcard and answer it, you then click a button to indicate whether it was easy, challenging, hard or very hard. Then based on what you selected, that card may be shown anytime from a minute later to thirty days in the future. Not only can you find lots of existing decks, but it’s also quite easy to create your own.

Stay Organized

A big part of learning something new is staying on top of all the information that’s being sent your way. Since it takes time for your brain to process and absorb lots of new information, reviewing information more than once is a standard part of the learning process. However, efficiently reviewing can be tough to do if you have endless piles of paper scattered everywhere. That’s why digital tools like Evernote are so useful. You can choose whatever type of organizational structure works best for you, and then use your online organizer to keep up with everything that’s relevant to what you’re currently learning.

Support Your Learning Style

Whether you’re a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner, the availability of videos, podcasts and interactive games and experiences online means you’ll be able to learn in the manner that is best for your specific learning style.

A Comprehensive Solution

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One thing that’s worth noting is just because you want to use technology to enhance your learning experience doesn’t mean you have to go through this process alone. While self-learning is great, if you want a more structured approach, pursuing an online degree is a great option. Not only will you learn a ton by working towards an online degree like a doctorate in nursing (DNP), but you will also get a degree that will help you immensely in getting exactly the type of job that you want.

The other really cool thing about choosing this path is it means you’ll get to utilize even more technology throughout your learning process. From using forums to collaborate with other students to having lectures delivered through a variety of mediums, you’ll find that the technology online courses use make it possible for you to have an immersive experience that’s still flexible enough to fit into even the busiest schedule.

About the author:Nathan Gonzales decided to go back to school five years ago. Thanks to the flexibility of his online degree program, he was able to successfully complete his degree while working full-time and raising his daughter as a single dad.