Never Stop Learning

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This was it; final exam time.  My nerves were on edge.

“The test will begin the minute you access the exam link.  Remember it is a timed-test. You must complete the entire exam.  You may reference your textbook and notes. Don’t forget to submit the required course work exercises along with your written exam.  Good Luck!”

I could almost see the instructor staring at me; hear the heels of her shoes as she walked around the room.  Except this was a virtual course, taken online.  My first time at such an experience.

For those who have done this before, maybe it comes easier with experience. I found it difficult to pay attention to online lectures, with my mind drifting to a million other things.

Like, “Why is she wearing that dress; it’s sort of formal?” and “What kind of plant is that in the background?”

Now it was the “Final Frontier”; the exam. I began sweating profusely.  My throat was dry; my hand shook as I clicked “Begin” on my computer.

Not sure why this test was giving me the heebie-jeebies.

Let’s see: could it be that it’s been years since I’ve taken a test? That this is the FIRST and ONLY test for the course?  That my 3-ring binder with the course materials measured 4” thick?

Did I mention that there were close to 100 questions, all of them essay or short answer?

Augh!  The pressure!

Panic set in as a read the first question and tried to answer it without referring to the text.

Like a stubborn toddler I kept thinking, “I can do this myself”.

It only took a few minutes for me to see the beauty of referencing the text and I was off and running. Suddenly I relaxed and it was like I was back in college doing what I have always succeeded at: taking classes and passing exams. Learning.

Yes, I enjoy taking classes and learning new things.  Once I get the hang of it, I don’t even mind the testing.  Well, I’d rather not but it comes with the territory.

I’m not gonna lie; the exam was intense.  It took several full days to complete, and another to review my answers.

I returned my exam and the required course work before the deadline, confident in my answers.

Like I said, it had been years since I had taken an exam, much less taken a course.  This was long-overdue. My guess is that it’s been a long time since many of you have taken a course to learn something new.

How many of us stop learning when we leave school? How many excuses do we have?

  • “I’m too busy with work”
  • “It costs money to take classes”
  • “I’ve already learned what I need to know”
  • “If the company wants me to learn something, they can provide training”
  • “I’M TOO OLD”

We should never stop learning.  Why limit ourselves?  Learning is good for our brains; it’s stimulating; it can add credentials to our resume. If we attend classes at a local college we might even meet new people to add to our network.

In my case, I wanted to get formal training in a new discipline and earn the necessary credentials.

Did I pass the exam?  Keep your fingers crossed.  We’ll soon find out, won’t we?

Old Dog, New Trick

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Kylie Jan 2015

Recently I had a problem.  I wanted to learn something new – very quickly – to help my nephew.

I wanted to learn how to create a website.

This was not a totally selfless act, mind you, since any skills I learned could be used on my own website.  Challenge was that I kept running into negative roadblocks everywhere I turned.

  • “You can’t do this; you’re too old”.
  • “Remember how bad you are at programming? You made your first ever “D” when you tried to learn FORTRAN in college”.
  • “Websites are tricky; best to leave it to the professionals.”
  • “What the %$#@ are you thinking?”

And those roadblocks were just from my own thoughts, my own lack of confidence with computer technology. ME, trying to tell ME I couldn’t do it.

So typical for someone whose first experience with computers involved punch cards, a giant main-frame and hours waiting in line for your program to print-out, only to discover that one do-loop buried in your code had sabotaged the entire program.

No wonder I was afraid of trying something new with computers.

I mentioned my frustration at trying to either find someone to create the site for my nephew or someone to teach me how to do it to a new colleague at a networking lunch.  There was no time to enroll in a lengthy class; this was a two week assignment. As luck would have it, this new colleague knew websites.  And he volunteered to help me.

Hallelujah!

It was a business deal, for sure. He was going to do the hands-on work and build the site. In return I would review copy for a series of video tutorials he had been developing aimed at teaching others how to build their own websites.

Ah-ha! It was my light-bulb moment; the opportunity I had been looking for.

I became his ‘test student’, reviewing the course and putting the lessons to work to see if I could build the site by myself.  I assured him if this “old dog” could learn to build a site from the tutorials, then anyone could do it.

Was the prospect of trying to learn something new scary?  I’m not gonna lie; I was a bit nervous.  Nightmares of FORTRAN and punch cards came rushing back to me.  My dreams became giant do-loops.

But just like most things, the anticipation was far worse than the actual event.

And before I knew it, I had actually built a website! Complete with photos, video, text, multiple pages, etc.

Truth be told, with proper training it wasn’t that difficult to learn.  Honestly, I’m mad at myself for not trying to learn sooner.

Do I know everything about websites? Of course not.  It was only a few lessons and there is so much more to it.  Yet I am still impressed with my results and so grateful to my colleague for helping me.

Many of you may not consider this a big deal and are wondering why I’ve bothered to write about it.  After all, computers have been around for ages and it’s hard to understand why anyone would be afraid of them.  Plus you can Google just about anything these days, including “how to build a website”.

It’s just that many times I meet people in their forties and fifties who say they are too old to learn, or don’t have time to learn, or don’t have an interest in learning.  That makes me so sad – for them.

When these same people tell me that, based on their own job search experience, “There are no jobs out there for older workers”, it makes me wonder if it’s because these people refuse to learn something new.

I know, I know – there’s age discrimination and other factors.  Yet I still believe that having marketable skills that show you are current, paired with a desire to learn, may help get your foot in the door.

Besides, when does learning stop at a certain age?  I know plenty of octogenarians who are regulars at the community college and are constantly learning new technology just to keep up with their grandchildren.

Even if we’re not in the hunt for a new job, learning keeps us engaged and is good for our brain health.

Yes, you can teach an old dog a new trick.