There is a student inside all of us. And a teacher as well. Everything that we see is a form of learning. Everything that we do is a form of teaching, provided there is someone who is with you at that moment. For me, the presence of anyone who is receptive enough is stimulus to want to teach. Conversely, if I think I need to learn something, I would explore whatever is happening around me to seek the best and imbibe the information.
Guys, you all know me. I am always curious to learn. My chief go-to sites are www.coursera.org and www.edx.org. They conduct several MOOCs - (Massive Open Online Courses) in all areas of teaching and from universities from all over the world. Joining and auditing the entire course is, of course, free. The courses run for about 5-10 weeks. It consists of mandatory stuff like taking a pre-course survey, attempting the end-of-the-week writing assignments or quizzes, watching all the video lectures, etc. The amount of time you need to do the "homework" is about 4-7 hours/week. If you want to collect an authentic certificate of having done the course, you might need to send a payment using your credit or debit card etc. These payments are really not large. For example, in the UK, it works out to around 40-60 pounds for the "Verified Certificate".
So, which courses am I currently doing? On Coursera, I am doing a course on Astronomy. On FreeLearn, I am currently doing a Patient Safety and Quality course from the University of Bath. And, finally, from the edx site, I am enrolled on the "Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster" - a close look at the global problem of providing effective humanitarian aid to those at the forefront of a war that they did not bring upon themselves.
Three courses simultaneously, did you ask? The answer to this is YES. It does get a bit busy sometimes, but I am coping with it all. And really enjoying myself.
Which brings me to the second side of the coin of education, i.e, teaching. As I am not a trainee, I do not do formal training. However, I do a lot of informal teaching. I taught a pair of IIIrd year medical students today itself. It was a bedside teaching on lumbar puncture in neonates. When you teach, you get the immense satisfaction of sharing your knowledge with others. It almost feels like you are donating to someone else. A sort of charity, if you may call it that. But it's more than that. When you teach, you also learn. And this line is for those who teach. You revise your knowledge, of course, but you are also forced to check your knowledge in real time. By doing this, you become an even better teacher than what you had been before.
Tell me your own experience as a teacher and as a student. Thank you for reading this installment.
Guys, you all know me. I am always curious to learn. My chief go-to sites are www.coursera.org and www.edx.org. They conduct several MOOCs - (Massive Open Online Courses) in all areas of teaching and from universities from all over the world. Joining and auditing the entire course is, of course, free. The courses run for about 5-10 weeks. It consists of mandatory stuff like taking a pre-course survey, attempting the end-of-the-week writing assignments or quizzes, watching all the video lectures, etc. The amount of time you need to do the "homework" is about 4-7 hours/week. If you want to collect an authentic certificate of having done the course, you might need to send a payment using your credit or debit card etc. These payments are really not large. For example, in the UK, it works out to around 40-60 pounds for the "Verified Certificate".
So, which courses am I currently doing? On Coursera, I am doing a course on Astronomy. On FreeLearn, I am currently doing a Patient Safety and Quality course from the University of Bath. And, finally, from the edx site, I am enrolled on the "Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster" - a close look at the global problem of providing effective humanitarian aid to those at the forefront of a war that they did not bring upon themselves.
Three courses simultaneously, did you ask? The answer to this is YES. It does get a bit busy sometimes, but I am coping with it all. And really enjoying myself.
Which brings me to the second side of the coin of education, i.e, teaching. As I am not a trainee, I do not do formal training. However, I do a lot of informal teaching. I taught a pair of IIIrd year medical students today itself. It was a bedside teaching on lumbar puncture in neonates. When you teach, you get the immense satisfaction of sharing your knowledge with others. It almost feels like you are donating to someone else. A sort of charity, if you may call it that. But it's more than that. When you teach, you also learn. And this line is for those who teach. You revise your knowledge, of course, but you are also forced to check your knowledge in real time. By doing this, you become an even better teacher than what you had been before.
Tell me your own experience as a teacher and as a student. Thank you for reading this installment.
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