How do I learn?

TL;DR I will listen intently, scrap useless crap, relate meaningful nuggets of information, recognise it in the everyday

With the start of the semester, Networked Media, and the first ‘unlecture’ in particular, I want to ask myself a very pertinent question: How do I learn? How exactly do I attend to, absorb, and synthesise information, regardless of whether it’s a formal context or not.

What prompted me to think about the very first step of the learning process – attending – was highlighted in this document written by a reporter for the Washington Post, Anne Hull (link may only be accessible by RMIT students). In short the lesson she imparts with for budding journalists is pay attention. Not just to one thing, or the subject relevant to your story, but everything and I feel that this is extremely relevant, even for classroom learning, at least the way I learn. What is the teacher saying? How are they saying it? Are they emphasising anything? Are they biased toward one opinion or another? Are their claims or facts entirely true? Is there a better way to word the information? Continue reading