COMMUNICATIONS
COMMUNICATIONS
There are times when I ’ m just plain bored and would like to hear or see something new . TED talks entertain me . As explained on their site ( ted . com ) “ TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas , usually in the form of short , powerful talks ( 18 minutes or less ). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology , Entertainment and Design converged , and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages .” There are literally thousands of talks , many by well-known authorities , on an unbelievable variety of topics . It is easy to get lost in learning on this site .
I also love to read , and our local library has now made it possible for me to scan through thousands of books online and sign out the ones I ’ m interested in . I can read them on my iPad whenever and wherever I wish . Even when we vacation , as long as I have an Internet connection , I can still reach my library account to download and return books . It is also possible for me to put books on hold and to build a wish list with titles that I may want to read in the future .
I did have to download an app , but I know that I could have brought my iPad to the library and I would have been given help not only downloading the app , but also with how to borrow and return books . The staff there is very willing to teach patrons how to handle their electronic readers . The interesting thing for me is that I used to read a paper book to the end even if I lost interest in it because it usually represented either money spent or the effort of searching shelves at the library , but now it has become very easy to return my digital book if it has not caught my interest . Furthermore , I can adjust not only the size of the print for my aging eyes , but I can also set the degree of brightness of the page .
There are certainly many more ways to continue learning from home , but these are some of my favourites . news & views WINTER 2016 | 39