Connect-the-Dots Learning

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FORMAL EDUCATION IS NOT SUSTAINABLE FOR A LIFETIME

But lifetime learning is essential for surviving today's volatile job market and tomorrow's long period of "retirement."

Do you remember doing connect-the-dots puzzles as a kid? There is this sheet of paper with numbered dots scattered about, seemingly at random. The objective was to draw straight lines between dots, in numerical order: 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and so on. At first, the pattern makes little or no sense. But as you continue the process, an image begins to emerge. When you draw the last line — to the highest number on the page — you have a clear image.

Now imagine a special connect-the-dots puzzle where some of the dots are numbered and some are not. Can that sort of puzzle be solved? Yes, of course. But it will take longer and require some trial-and-error. There will be times when you see an image appearing, only to find it isn't the right one. So you back up a few steps and try a slightly different approach. Eventually it all begins making sense. Then you can add the missing numbers and thereby make it easier for someone else to solve the puzzle.

This not a trivial analogy. It is a very close match—almost exact—with sustainable, lifelong learning for the 21st century. But it is really nothing new.

We all undergo periods of formal learning where teachers, scheduled classes, textbooks, and homework and designed to bring us up to some measurable standard of academic and skill competence. The resources are all provided, and our job is to absorb and integrate as much as possible in the allotted period of time. It can be a pre-school environment or a college program in astrophysics, but one thing is common: the dots are all numbered.

Formal Education is Not Sustainable for a Lifetime

Formal learning is critically important, but it is not sustainable for a lifetime. So how do we meet the challenges of the 21st century economy with never-ending education? Simple. Use the same techniques people have used forever: learning continuously in bits and pieces.

Outside the traditional academic structure, most learning actually takes place in bits-and-pieces. We read articles, browse books, watch documentaries on TV and the web, surf the Web, chat with people of similar interests, and simply think and daydream about our ideas. We skim magazine articles that interest us. We browse books that deal with our favorite topics. We enjoy videos that increase our knowledge and understanding. Just a little piece here and another chunk there. But with time, it all begins to grow into a larger and more coherent pattern. Some of the dots are numbered, and many are not . A little clue here and a little clue there. Some trial-and-error. Some rethinking and revising. Eventually a new and exciting image begins to emerge. You have taken a giant step forward in your learning. Now you are more secure, but never finished.

Now THAT kind of learning is sustainable for a lifetime. It can become a regular part of the day's routine. It can be integrated into your daily life, just like keeping up with the news, getting exercise, and having some time with the family.

Free-Ed.Net Helps Connect the Dots

Free-Ed.Net is not a formal learning institution. Free-Ed.Net is a vast connect-the-dots resource that can certainly help you with your formal learning, but then becomes a lifetime partner in building your career and a much more satisfying future — one where the central question is What can I accomplish next?, as opposed to, What must I do to survive another day?

Today, for all practical purposes, the entire body of knowledge of the human race is at our fingertips. The classroom is no longer the premiere source of human knowledge — important, but no longer alone. Opportunities for learning and engaging in serious learning and scholarly work have never been so close at hand for so many people. There are no barriers of race, religion, income level, social status, distance, health, or time. Learning and unlimited higher education are available for the taking. There is just one thing, though: most people have to adjust to learning in this new environment.

Knowledge on the Web—as a whole—is not well organized. In fact, it isn't organized at all. Certainly there are individual websites that are well put together, but they represent a tiny portion of the same topics that are scatted all over the web. And if you omit sites that charge for their information, there is hardly anything (besides Wikipedia) that organizes complete topics into a meaningful pattern. So we are learning the value of finding and putting together information piecewise. It simply needs to be found and stitched together. This is where our connect-the-dots learning style comes into play.

Free-Ed.Net provides free courses and learning resources that represent most of the numbered dots on your connect-the-dots puzzle, such as free online textbooks and parts of textbooks for some courses. In other instances, there are detailed study guides and a patchwork of Web resources. In any case, the courses are designed to get you actively involved in your own learning process.

Master the connect-the-dots technique, and it will serve you for a lifetime.

If you master 'connect-the-dots' at Free-Ed.Net, it will serve your learning needs for a lifetime.

Keeping detailed learning journals is a necessary part of a successful lifelong learning. The Web can be fickle and often difficult to handle. Your learning journals, however, are solid and dependable. They are composed of your own thoughts and your attempts to patch together seemingly unrelated or confusing ideas.

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Learn more about the Learning Journal immediately after studying this page about connecting the dots.

David L. Heiserman, Editor

Revised: February 01, 2011