Red Notice
2nd November 2017
Cheery Friday Greetings to our Learning How to Learners!
Book of the Month
It can sometimes be important to step back and look at society’s impact on how we learn and grow. Bill Browder’s magnificent best-seller Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice tells the story of the impact of highest level corruption on ordinary people’s lives. (This book has an amazing 5-star rating with over 2600 reviews on Amazon. A free Russian version is available here.) Browder was the co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management, which specialized in Russian investments. In the course of his work, Browder became a victim of a kleptocratic part of Russia’s economy, where the rule of law can be rewritten on a whim. The book’s cover notes “A financial caper, a crime thriller, and a political crusade, Red Notice is the story of one man taking on overpowering odds to change the world, and also the story of how, without intending to, he found meaning in his life.” We agree—we couldn’t put the book down.
On a side note, we often think that relentless focus is the best way to learn and be successful. Along those lines, we often tout Cal Newport’s Deep Work. But as Browder notes, Edmond Safra, one of the world’s greatest investment bankers, could evince an almost gnat-like attention-span. If you have trouble keeping your focus on just one thing, it may sometimes be an advantage.
That’s part of why we read great books—we often also gain insight in unexpected areas.
A Free List of 560 Free Online Courses from 200 Universities
Our friends at Class Central have just published this valuable listing of free online courses. Check it out! They also have put forth an idea for a MOOC semester. What do you think? Leave your comments in the comments section.
Learning Glass
We watched this 48-minute video in its entirety to get a better sense of the history and use of the new “light board” technology for writing on a clear surface. This innovation allows a teacher to look directly at the class while writing. Very much worth checking out if you’re looking for a better way to reach large classes.
Learning Paths on Coursera–the Differences between Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn
Here is a penetrating article by Chris Fellingham on the “learning paths” concept on Coursera. Learning paths help lead you through a series of MOOC to get what you want out of your learning. Chris’s article approaches the topic from an online business perspective, but even if you’re simply trying to get the most from your MOOCs, you’ll find it worthwhile.
Incidentally, if you are trying to discover the differences between the top three MOOC platforms, Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn, this overview article by “super-MOOCer” Patsy Nestor will fill you in.
Extraordinary Book Deal Almost at End
BookBub’s fantastic deal on the electronic version of A Mind for Numbers (the supplemental course book) will end on November 4th. Get your electronic copy for only $1.99 while it lasts!
That’s all for this week. Have a happy week in Learning How to Learn!
Barb, Terry, and the entire Learning How to Learn team
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