COMMUNICATIONS
COMMUNICATIONS
Life-Long Learning
INGE COATES | Communications Committee
Most people are held back not by their innate ability , but by their mindset . They think intelligence is fixed , but it isn ’ t . Your brain is like a muscle . The more you use it and struggle , the more it grows .
~ www . khanacademy . org / youcanlearnanything
It ’ s probably true — winter keeps many of us indoors more often than any other season . Certainly , those who participate in snowshoeing , skiing and such embrace the out-of-doors when the thermometer dips , but even they tend to stay indoors if it becomes too cold or driving becomes unsafe . And those whose joints react to the cold are understandably prone to staying indoors . So how do we prevent ourselves from feeling claustrophobic or housebound ? My favourite activity is to learn something new , and I often use the Internet to help me pursue new interests .
I took up watercolour painting and enjoyed several lessons , but that art requires experimentation and exploration . I found that YouTube offered many videos created by successful painters that showed me their techniques . By simply typing the area of interest and the word ‘ YouTube ’ into the search line , a number of interesting tutorials appeared . Perhaps you are interested in knitting , winning strategies for scrabble , or want to fix your snowblower . Just provide the details of your interest alongside the word YouTube , and you might be surprised at what comes up .
My daughter and I plan to visit Germany next year , and I wanted to refresh my knowledge of the German language . Khan Academy ( khanacademy . org ) offers free online courses not only in language learning , but also in a variety of other aspects of science , engineering , economics , financing and computing , as well as humanities courses like art history and music . If you are looking for solid learning in areas like these , you could try Khan Academy . The online courses are free , but you do have to sign in using your name and an email address .
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