Choose a more flexible and efficient learning path
Jin-Yan Huang
Department of East Asian Studies
As a student majoring in East Asian Studies, gaining insight into the topics I study and supplementing my learning through digital resources is essential. In recent years, online learning has become a mainstream channel for people to access knowledge. Online resources and certifications are available from colleges and universities, for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations, and even official and corporate entities. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has become even more widespread and prosperous.
As a student majoring in East Asian Studies, gaining insight into the topics I study and supplementing my learning through digital resources is essential. In recent years, online learning has become a mainstream channel for people to access knowledge. Online resources and certifications are available from colleges and universities, for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations, and even official and corporate entities. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has become even more widespread and prosperous.
The flexibility of digital learning is one of its main advantages. Participating in online courses on my schedule allows me to learn at my own pace and in my spare time. This kind of flexibility is especially beneficial for me to balance my studies, hobbies, social life, part-time jobs, etc., as well as to explore other disciplines and areas of expertise. Khan Academy and Coursera, in particular, were academically supportive to me during the epidemic. I took a microeconomics course on Khan Academy to review for my midterm and final exams at school, as well as a financial markets course on Coursera offered by Yale University to get into a field I had never understood before. These courses helped me broaden my knowledge and deepen my understanding of these fields.
Khan Academy is a nonprofit educational institution that offers free online courses in a range of subjects including economics, programming, math, science, arts and humanities. And they offer videos, quizzes, and interactive exercises that allow students to learn at their own pace. Khan Academy’s economics course was particularly helpful to me during the pre-test review phase as it provides a clear and concise introduction to each topic.
Another one, Coursera is an online learning platform that partners with universities and businesses to offer a wide variety of courses, from academic to career development aspects. These courses are usually taught by leading experts in the field and explore the topic in greater depth. courses on Coursera are also flexible and most of the videos are with subtitles available in various languages, friendly to users of all languages. It is worth noting that Coursera courses are included in National Taiwan Normal University’s MOOCs credit-acquisition program and can be applied for a total of 4 credit hours.
As a person who values efficiency and effectiveness, I would highly recommend these resources to anyone looking to expand their knowledge and improve their academic performance. While studying on your own is inevitable for college students, some subjects or themes definitely require expert guidance. When time and budget are limited, browsing the school’s list of online learning platforms and then finding the resources you need can be an ideal self-improvement option.