YouTube Downloader HD is a great tool for the self-directed learner! It allows you to download YouTube videos to your device so you can review them later when you may not have internet access or when you simply want to view them several times to allow the content to “sink in.”
And with the mountain of YouTube training materials and tutorials available, you can quickly build your own private collection of self-study videos. How cool is that?! (Click “Read the rest of this entry” to learn more…)
Complaining about YouTube is like complaining about the sun. It’s huge and it’s everywhere and it obviously does lots of good things for everyone. And when you find yourself formulating your complaint, you feel a little guilty… like maybe you’re somehow being petty or ungrateful.
Still, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. For example, when the sun is too bright it can be overwhelming and distracting and can prevent you from focusing on the task at hand. Similarly, when you are trying to learn about something new by watching a series of videos, YouTube can easily bury you in a never-ending onslaught of “related” videos. Eventually, hundreds of clicks and many hours later, you end up asking yourself, “What was I trying to study, here?? I completely forgot!!!”
So the good news is YouTube’s got everything! And the bad news is, well… YouTube’s got everything. And it serves it all up to you in ways that can be enormously distracting and counter-productive. Let’s look at a specific case in point: My own little video series for project management (PM) newbies: “Become a Project Management Minimalist.”
Topic: Gardening, landscaping, and related topics
Format: Websites with online training (many formats)
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com
It’s that time of year again… at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s time to begin planning this year’s gardening or landscaping projects. And, as any truly effective gardener knows, that “green thumb” to which everyone aspires isn’t something that develops on its own. It’s actually the result of a lot of work! But all that hard work is only effective if you’re making intelligent, well-informed choices.
Fortunately, the web has some great resources to help you with your own gardening self-study program. To learn more, keep reading… Read the rest of this entry »
In August of 2010 I discovered the amazing Khan Academy and shared it with readers of this blog. What was so great about it, from a training perspective? At the time, I noted the following:
Then just last April, I directed your attention to Salman Khan’s TED talk “Let’s use video to reinvent education.” In that brief video, Khan Academy’s founder challenges us all to rethink education — to use the ‘net and the video medium to deliver education everywhere it’s needed, when it’s needed, and to do so absolutely FOR FREE!! Khan’s dream is huge, yet it’s simply stated: To provide “a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.”
Now I’m happy to see that today Salman Khan’s energy and enthusiasm for education are being matched by solid financial support and even more volunteers! And last night Khan Academy got a big boost from the bright spotlight of CBS’ acclaimed 60 Minutes. In their report, they give us a look inside Khan Academy, interview its founder and staff, and ask, “Is ‘Khan Academy: [a] Model for [the] future of U.S. education?”
Watch the video… then forward this info to anyone who has kids or cares about education.
["Last year I announced the launch of my new website, Project Management FREEBIES. Since this site launched, it has accumulated a substantial list of absolutely free training materials, white papers, templates, and more that can help project managers learn their trade more quickly and easily. If you're trying to teach yourself PM, then check it out!" -- Mike G., the publisher of this website, The Best Free Training.]
Project Management FREEBIES website: http://michaelgreer.biz/pmfreebies
Click “Read the Rest of this Entry” below to see what’s new since last July.
Topic: Critical reasoning and how to identify good arguments versus bad
Format: 6 video or audio podcasts ranging from 52 to 81 minutes in length; 5 printed documents (copies of instructor slides)
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com
Ever find yourself yelling at your TV or radio as some bonehead political talker spews forth a bunch of illogical political opinions, laced with arguments that seem… well… crazy? Wouldn’t it be great if you could formally deconstruct this stuff and clearly expose the fallacies for what they are? This online course, from the world-renowned University of Oxford in England, may give you the tools to do just that. And in this contentious U.S. presidential election year this skill could come in handy!
