Learn From Your Computer

The television has a lot in common with the computer. Both were invented by British men with three names; and both video devices were hailed as learning tools, but marketed for entertainment. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for learning from your computer.

1. Listen when your computer talks to you.
The average person only utilizes 30% of his computer's features. Savvy users listen to books, training programs and podcasts on the computer or portable device. Podcasts are sound files that are usually available at no charge.

2. Meet a mentor online.
Video tutorials and training programs can be infinitely more effective than books. My upcoming Role Model Selling training video will help sellers adapt successful communication techniques including tone, pitch, pace and other nuances much better than any sales book.

3. Use YouTube to learn, not just laugh.
Like TV, invented by John Logie Baird in the 1920s, the computer is used more for entertaining than teaching. There are educational videos available at this popular site, but most of YouTube's offerings are entertainment-based.

4. YouTube can be used to help others.
Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 with the hope that people would share ideas online. Everyone I know has intellectual property that can help others. I'm teaching folks to use sites like YouTube to post educational videos.

5. Create your own instructional videos.
The Flip video camera, available at Best Buy for around $150, is the size of a candy bar and simple to use. Create your own instructional video or record customer testimonials of your offerings to post on the Web.