Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
Jim Rohn
Due to the rapid development of information technology, the emergence of the Internet and access to the unlimited flow of information and data, people today have a variety of options in order to continuously improve their own development, not to stop, but to get new knowledge and skills.
And although not all of them use these opportunities, people today can much easier learn. The main difference of self – education is the absence of training institution or person, and complete freedom of the student to choose the subject, methods and sources. If you are sent on training courses, even if they are not of interest to you, it’s totally different. During self-education you select the area where you want to grow and gain new knowledge by yourself, then make a plan and follow it on your own. The motivation here is not some external force or reason, but intrinsic motivation, due to which the self-education is so effectively. The main advantage of the knowledge obtained in this way is that you let them flow very quickly through your mind and turn in the life process. The subject of self-education can be anything – cooking, web design, the global economy and stock market game, foreign language or playing an instrument, etc.
Psychologically the efficiency of self-education can be explained very simply – people esteem independently obtained knowledge and skills much more than those, which were presented them on a silver platter, and they want to apply these knowledge at first, implement in practice and life.
As we know books are the main source of knowledge. And it’s not just about literature but also about workbooks, encyclopedias, documentaries, publications, etc. Until a few decades ago in order to get access to a huge variety of literature, it was necessary to either spend a lot of money at your local bookstore, or spend most of free time in the library. Today everything is much easier – just enter the name of the desired publication in the search engine, the program immediately will give hundreds of resources, where you can read or download the necessary book.
Books on the site are presented in a wide variety and in all formats – you can download the publication in a text file that is easily opened in a reader. In order to be able to print a book, you can download a Word or PDF file; there are also special formats for electronic devices. The situation, where there is no necessary book in the Internet happens very rare – it only applies to new products or unclaimed books of fiction. As for the workbooks they are presented in a wide range, with various additions – mp3 files, tasks to test the knowledge, etc.
For those, who want to learn any trade or get some experience (beading, knitting, sewing, etc.) video tutorials are mostly provided, which are essential for effective results. After all, there are certain areas where training cannot be just with use of book – the student should see how to perform a job, watch the actions of the wizard.
Thanks to the Internet people, who live in the province, receive the opportunity to learn and acquire new knowledge. Being away from the economic and educational centers, earlier residents of remote areas had great difficulties with learning, finding books and materials. Today they can not only find everything important all over the Internet, but also to learn remotely, that gives both knowledge and related documents.
The technical progress is of great importance for those who study foreign languages. The reason is that the ability to communicate with native speakers, constant practice are essential for learning and advancement in education. This is why many sites were developed through which people of different countries are able to communicate with each other, become friends through correspondence. Practice can be without going outside of the country, using Skype and a webcam for communication.
Opinions on the effectiveness of self-education are different of many people. Many educators argue that technology and the Internet cause degradation of students, their unwillingness to learn and the wide access to information has a negative effect. However, the person, who studies independently, can better than teacher feels what gaps in knowledge need to be removed. Therefore, the degree of self-regulation in this case is quite high. Secondly, if a person takes for the acquisition of knowledge in this way, then he is very motivated and will make efforts to achieve a positive result. Thirdly, in this case, you can manually choose your own pace of lessons and their class time.
Now the obvious shortcomings. First, a lack of discipline often appears on the way to the goal achievement. Second, the problem is also in the lack of a person (teacher) who can quickly respond to emerging issues in the course of training. Third, no one will tell you what sources of knowledge are best can be used in the learning process. You have to look for them by yourself.
In any case, self-education is the way to success for people who want to learn and willing to work hard, and a global network provides unlimited opportunities that can be used for learning. This is confirmed by the experience of many famous people who have received their knowledge in this way. The main thing is to know where exactly they can be applied!
