Ready to Join The Self Education Revolution?
I’m incredibly excited to talk to you today about the revolution that’s happening in online education. Online education isn’t new. It’s been around for more than 20 years but it’s absolutely exploding right now. Tony Robbins and his partner Dean Graziosi just launched a program called The Knowledge Business Blueprint that’s all about the power of learning and implementing quickly through online education. They call it the “roadmap to the next level of life”.
Let’s talk about it. Advances in technology have opened up access to education like never before. Just like Airbnb gives you more options for accommodations and Uber and Lyft give you more options for transportation, online courses give you access to education like never before. It’s so incredibly empowering.
I have my own personal take on why online education is so compelling. And it’s really all about the empowerment that SELF EDUCATION brings to your life and happiness. If there is something you have always wanted to learn, now is the time to learn it. Embrace the availability and access that you have today and don’t wait. My tag line is: It’s Never Too Late To Create and that’s never been more true than it is today.
Here’s why I’m so passionate about online education.
#1: Easy Access
Technology is improving so fast that you can now find a course, register, and start it from any device almost instantly. You can watch from your mobile phone anytime of the day or night. And, depending on the course, you can either binge watch the whole thing, just like a Netflix series, or consume the content weekly if the course is dripped.
I’m blown away by the rapid adoption of mobile across all age spectrums. I’ve been watching my website traffic stats and mobile has overtaken desktop, which may not be that surprising for many online entrepreneurs. I knew it would happen in my space too but didn’t think it would happen this quickly.
Students are watching my course content on mobile and participating in my Facebook live broadcasts from their phones while waiting in the pickup lane at their kids school! It’s easy access, all the time. I love it.
#2: Engaging Content
The quality of the content is, for the most part, fantastic. It has to be because your success as an online educator is totally dependent on the results your students achieve. Everyone learns differently and online courses enable you to pick the method that works best for you. Courses generally provide videos, audio files, transcripts, downloadable cheat sheets and more.
This gives you such freedom and empowers you to consume the content. By engaging with the content in a variety of ways, you learn better, faster and retain more of the information. Having a well-paced course, with the content broken down into bite sized pieces, with lots of additional support, makes for an incredible experience.
Just think about it. You can start by watching the video tutorials. Then you can download the audio files and listen while you go out for a walk or while you are doing the dishes. If you prefer to read the content, you can download the transcripts and the workbooks and cheat sheets. So many options for engaging with the content.
#3: Better Retention
Another great thing about online learning is you can consume the content over and over again. Each time you’ll absorb a bit more, something new will click and your understanding will deepen. Some course creators offer life-time access, meaning you have access to their course for as long as the course exists. Some charge a small renewal fee to cover the annual cost of updating their programs. Some provide updates free of charge. (That would be me. LOL)
In the surface pattern design industry, online courses like mine are exceptionally supportive with personalized attention, Q&A sessions, live demonstrations, and downloadable cheat sheets to support students who want a written guide to follow. When the content is technical, like it is in my course - I teach you how to create beautiful pattern designs from your sketches using Adobe Illustrator – the learning experience is even more powerful because you can pause the video tutorials, implement the same actions using your own work, and then restart the video when you’re ready to move onto the next step.
#4: Speed & Efficiency
People used to be happy, or at least willing, to spend hours hunting for free content on YouTube. Not anymore. Depending on what you are looking for, it can be a huge waste of time because you don’t know what you’re going to find. A simple search might yield dozens of possible hits. And you’ll often watch hours of content and still not get the answers to your questions.
Don’t get me wrong. YouTube is an incredible platform for content. You can find amazingly talented people to follow and learn from. It’s just not, in my opinion, an effective platform for teaching topics in depth, from start to finish. It’s a great place for weekly marketing tips or short art demonstrations. Huge kudos to the amazing people who deliver free content week in and week out there.
The best online course creators are completely transparent. They tell you everything about what’s in their course, offer extra bonuses, and frequently teach you valuable content free of charge to make sure you know exactly what you’ll experience in their course. The goal is for you, the student, to achieve results and enjoy the learning journey and personal transformation in the process. This approach keeps course creators in business and word of mouth recommendations are the very best way to grow our businesses and enhance our reputations.
#5: Community
Let’s not forget about the incredibly communities that are formed through online courses. It’s amazing to guide new groups of students when they begin an online course together. Some online courses offer a members-only private Facebook group as a special bonus in their programs. They are a ton of work to manage but done right, these communities can create life-long friendships, foster encouragement and support and significantly enhance the learning experience. Students cheer each other on and provide on-going accountability which enables more students to reach the finish line, master the content and achieve results.
Finally, engaging and informative Q&A sessions take place inside these communities. Passionate course creators are always discovering new ways to enhance the learning experience. For example, I recently purchased new software called Ecamm that lets me share my screen during live broadcasts. It’s transformational!
You can watch me demonstrate the exact steps you’re learning as though you’re looking right over my shoulder. Here’s what a few of my current students said about it recently. “This was an excellent tutorial! I like how you can now show your screen as you talk!” - Kris Hackleman. And Shari Goodall added: “This was a great session!!! Sharing your screen is awesome. It’s a great addition and as usual your teaching is fantastic.”
As I wrap up today’s blog, I can’t leave without reminding you how empowering and joyful it is to learn something new. Learning keeps us young, vibrant, alive and full of joy and anticipation about the possibilities that these newly acquired skills open up for us. Do not let fear stop you.
I’m teaching a free LIVE workshop right now called: How to Get Started in Surface Pattern Design. It’s not too late to sign up and join the fun. My goal in the workshop is to teach you how to take a simple sketch and turn it into a beautiful repeating pattern inside Adobe Illustrator. We’ll cover a lot of ground together. It’s free and you’ll learn valuable skills if you do the work - it’s a WORKshop! I hope you’ll join us. Here’s my gift to you. Come learn today!
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation living in, and traveling to, beautiful environments in the United States and abroad.
