The internet’s a big place – in fact, there are approximately 328.77 million terabytes of new data created on it every day. That statistic, while impressive, is admittedly quite abstract. A more intelligible way of getting to grips with the sheer scale of the internet is to consider that there are around 1.13 billion websites online.
The vast majority of these you’ll naturally never see or have cause to use. But that would still leave potentially millions of resources you have no easy way of accessing or utilizing. Search engines, such as Google and Bing, have made the task of seeking out relevant information much easier than ever before, but they’re not perfect, and sometimes the information you can access in this way may not be of the highest quality, or go into sufficient depth.
People use the internet for a huge variety of reasons, from work to entertainment. Many also seek to use the wealth of data online to better themselves by picking up new skills, studying subjects, acquiring qualifications, learning new languages or retraining professionally.
Without a doubt, the internet is a formidable learning tool, but to make the most of it you may need some pointers on where to go and what platforms are likely to provide you with the highest quality resources you can find. Let’s take a look at what the best options on the table are if you’re wanting to pick up a new skill, or go deeper and acquire meaningful qualifications to further your career or educational goals.
Trust High Quality Resources
We all know it, but seldom pause to consider the implications of the fact that anybody can publish information on the internet as if they were an expert in the field they’re covering. In most cases, this is relatively harmless, but sometimes it can result in us picking up bad habits that we need to then unlearn at a later stage.
Even when we’re simply searching for beginner guides to something, it’s worthwhile taking some time to seek out high quality resources to learn from. This process is relatively straightforward, too – just search around until you can determine which platforms and resources are trusted and respected in their sector.
This is true for any topic. For example, say you’re wanting to brush up on the basic rules of a favourite like Texas Hold ‘em before a Friday games night with your friends – going to a trusted platform like PokerStars to apprise yourself of this information will benefit you more in the long
run than a dozen half-finished or under-researched guides.
Go Deeper With eLearning Platforms
If you’re wanting to really get to grips with a subject, it’s worth checking out the various eLearning platforms available to you. These range from free services to premium courses, and pride themselves on furnishing you with high quality resources from trusted experts and teachers.
There are eLearning platforms available in a huge range of subjects. For more general or creative work, you can typically find what you need on the two biggest of these platforms – Udemy and Skillshare. Each has around 30,000 courses on everything from graphic design to horticulture.
If you’re in need of something more specialized, there are likely to be sites that can help you with this also. Codecademy, for example, is designed to help budding coders learn a range of new programming languages, all through easy to follow and intuitive lessons.
Elsewhere, Brilliant is an eLearning platform designed to cater to STEM subjects. Here you’ll find everything from courses on applied logic and mathematics, right though to introductory engineering classes.
Get a Tutor
Sometimes there’s no escaping the fact that the subject you’re interested in learning is best approached in a 1 on 1 context with a professional. But you don’t need to go out of your way to connect with a tutor, as websites like TutorHunt are designed to give you a directory of prospective teachers willing to meet with you over Zoom or Skype, on your own time and terms.
