MOOC and ICT for lifelong learning

Never stop learning because life never stops teaching. What we learn becomes a part of who we are. Many people associate learning with formal education at school, college, university etc. We are told from early age that we should get good education, however schooling is only one type of learning. There are many other opportunities to further your knowledge and develop the skills you need throughout life.

So what is life long learning?

All learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and or employment related perspective.

There are two main reasons for learning throughout life: For personal development and for professional development.

Some advantage of continuous learning are:
* It boosts your confidence and self esteem
* Makes you more adaptable to change
* Helps achieve a more satisfying personal life
* Challenges your ideas and beliefs
* It can be fun

So how do we go about life long learning?

One of the ways is the use of ICT. The use of mobile phones, computers, Internet and social media has enabled new ways of communication and collaboration. ICT is a powerful tool that promotes and support a wide range of skills through the use of web based applications such as MOOCS

What is MOOC?
Massive Open Online Courses
A web based course of study made available over the Internet without charge to very large number of people.

Examples of MOOC are:
Coursera
Duolingo
Treehouse
Edx
Englishtown
Codeacademy
Futurelearn
Khanacademy
Openlearning
Desire2learn
Udemy
Openclassroom

How do you access MOOC?
Anyone who decides to take a course on a MOOC simply logs on to the website and signs up. Look for courses you are interested in and start to learn.

Advantages of learning using MOOC
* Learning using MOOC gives you a competitive edge.
* You can learn at your own pace, following your own schedule.
* No distance is a constraint.

I personally have learnt lots of softskills and technical skills using MOOCS. We need to challenge ourselves, make it a duty to learn something new every month.

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