Learning to educate yourself will provide you with a wealth of knowledge and different experience. This knowledge will prevent you from panicking in uncertain situations, and you will always feel confident in your approach. In addition, you will become familiar with various successful strategies, and realize that you are not alone in the struggle.
Learning from other people's successes will motivate you and give you the confidence to succeed. So, how do you go about self-educating? Here are some tips that will be helpful for everybody:
Learning to teach yourself
Taking the time to learn can help you achieve your personal goals. Curiosity fuels your desire to learn and will keep you motivated to take action. If you have a question: "What is my passion?", it will keep you motivated and determined. Whether you want to master a particular skill or become more knowledgeable about a subject, curiosity will help you achieve your goals.
Developing a curriculum
To develop a curriculum for self-education to achieve your goals, you must first identify the learning objective you want to attain. You can then break that learning objective into smaller goals, each of which could be laid out in a syllabus in a stepwise manner. For example, you may want to learn data science proficiency and therefore develop the skills necessary for data literacy, wrangling data, and considering data ethics. When developing a curriculum, it is important to note that you must be familiar with the different aspects of the process. Also, if you have difficulties with preparing your tasks, you can always ask the cheapest essay writing service uk for help and professionals will let you save your time and finish all in time. This is especially true if you're not an educator. Without a plan, you cannot deliver a course. Developing a curriculum is a great way to create a plan, as it allows you to focus on the details while completing the bigger picture. For example, you may develop a lesson plan based on a lesson plan, or you may focus on a particular skill, such as writing.
Keeping yourself motivated
The first step in achieving any goal is to set yourself some realistic and achievable expectations. Try to set aside time for self-education each day, and stay motivated by challenging yourself. Make sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night and stick to your schedule. If you are stuck, write down what is holding you back, and try to find support and resources that will help you move forward. Remember that the goal you set for yourself is important to you, and you should not let it slide.
Once you've made a list of goals, decide what rewards will motivate you the most. A visual reminder can be as simple as a picture on your phone or laptop, or as specific as a statement on your bedroom wall. Keeping yourself accountable is key to success. Identify the strategies that will help you reach these goals and stick to them. It is also good to consider the support you will need to achieve them, such as peer tutoring or an appointment with an academic coach in a Learning Center. Lastly, accept that you're not perfect and that you have to work hard. Having a positive attitude will help you feel more confident in your abilities and achievements.
Getting out of comfort zone
Getting out of your comfort zone is an excellent way to boost motivation. Make plans to reach your goals more difficult than usual. Consider taking on a challenging project at work or tackling a new skill you've always wanted to learn. Exercising can be as simple as taking a walk around the block, taking a walk, or even pushing a swing! Just make sure that you find something that motivates you to take action and finish it.
Getting feedback
When giving feedback, focus on the areas you can improve. Avoid using words like "always" or "never" because people rarely have consistent behavior. When giving feedback, always use the pronoun "I" or "we." These words suggest that your opinion is shared by everyone, whereas feedback is one person's opinion. Make sure you clarify your point before responding. Then, ask for more feedback or a second opinion.
Depending on the context, feedback can be very specific to experts and very accurate to those bystanders. However, if you're a complete novice, highly technical feedback might be confusing or contradictory. For example, describing your baseball swing in terms of torque is unlikely to make you a better hitter than you are now. Furthermore, too much feedback can be counterproductive. Rather than getting too much feedback, choose a few key areas to focus on and tailor your feedback to these aspects.
A structured approach to feedback has numerous advantages. It fosters a sense of belonging and ownership. Peer feedback provides students with a benchmark by which to compare their performance against the expectations of others. As a result, students are more likely to strive to achieve their goals. This feedback helps them grow as people. Getting feedback from others makes you feel good about yourself, too. In addition, it gives you a chance to correct mistakes and debunk misconceptions.
Using a learning management system to provide feedback can enhance learning. This type of system can add reminder mechanisms, provide additional learning materials, and even provide dashboards. These dashboards allow instructors to monitor how students follow up with their learning. Feedback is most effective when it provides feedback at the task level and is relevant to the overall learning process. And, it can also be useful for self-educators who have no formal training.
Changing the scenery
Changing the scenery will also help. The novelty effect kicks in when you change your environment. If you have trouble staying motivated at home, you can study at the library, or take lectures outside. You can also try a new workout routine. When you're focusing on your goals, ask yourself why you want to complete them. If you're studying at home, you'll lose motivation if you don't get a chance to spend time outside in nature.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).