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How To Learn More About Computers?

Date First Published: 10th April 2024

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Computer Hardware

Article Type: Computer Questions & Answers

Difficulty: Easy

Difficulty Level: 3/10

CONTENTS

1. Pick Something That Interests You
2. Set Goals
3. Use Online Resources
4. Use Books
5. Take Online Courses
6. Watch YouTube Videos
7. Browse Forums
8. Familiarise Yourself With Computer Terms
9. Test Yourself With Quizzes
10. Keep Up To Date With Computers
Why Should I Learn More About Computers?

Learn about how to learn more about computers in this article.

Over the years, usage of computer technology has grown a lot and the world has become more reliant on it. However, not everyone knows much about computers, especially those who grew up without them. If you are interested in learning more about computers, you can learn more about them by combining an understanding of computer basics with troubleshooting skills and experiences on a topic of your choice. This article explores how you can learn more about computers and the reasons why you should learn more.

1. Pick Something That Interests You

Since computing is a massive subject, it is not possible to learn everything about computers. If you pick something that interests you (e.g. computer hardware, computer software, computer networking, basic programming, graphics, web design, web development, IT infrastructure, etc), it will be much easier to gain a reasonable amount of knowledge than if you focus on learning about things from a wide range of topics.

Once you have picked something that interests you, you should then start learning it from the basics. Once you understand the basics, you can then move onto the middle-ground and more advanced things. There is no easy answer to how long it will take you to learn it as it will depend on how much knowledge and experience you already have in that topic and whether it is something you are interested in.

2. Set Goals

Learning about computers requires a lot of patience and motivation. To motivate yourself and monitor progress over time, you should set goals. For example, if you want to learn web development and it is completely new to you, you could set yourself a goal of creating a basic webpage. Do not give up until you have met your goals.

Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. You should be as specific as possible with the desired goal, set a measurable goal to track progress over time, and it should be realistic and achievable within a target end date.

3. Use Online Resources

One of the simplest ways to learn more about computers is to use online resources. You can use online resources, such as Wikipedia to learn more about a general topic and W3Schools to learn how to code. When searching for information about a specific topic, it is very likely that you will find Wikipedia at the top of the search results and W3Schools near the top when searching for information about coding online.

We have resources here to help you understand computer terminology and answer questions that you might have. You can browse through the topics and subtopics to find articles, which will help you gain knowledge. If there is a specific term or question you are looking for, you can search for it using the search box.

4. Use Books

There are plenty of ebooks and printed books that offer guides, tips, and instructions for computers. Most of these books provide a guide from basic to advanced, so you can start off learning the basics and once you have learnt that, you can move further into the book onto more advanced things. After reading the book, you will have learnt a lot about the topic you have picked.

You will have to pay for this resource, depending on the number of pages the book has and the seller, but the benefit of this is that you don't need an internet connection to access your ebook or printed book, so if you were having trouble connecting to the internet, you would still be able to access this resource. It is important to note that textbooks are more useful for expanding your knowledge in one area and online resources and courses are more suitable for gaining knowledge.

5. Take Online Courses

There are plenty of online course sites that provide free and paid courses. For example, FutureLearn, Udemy, and Coursera offer a wide range of computing courses, so there is a good chance that you will find one for a topic you are interested in.

Most Coursera courses can be taken free of charge. However, you will have to pay if you want to access a course certificate. You will have to pay for most Udemy courses, but they do offer some free courses for students to get an idea. FutureLearn offers some computing courses. They are free to access, but you will have to complete it within a certain amount of time and if you want access after that time is up, you will have to pay.

The benefits of taking an online course are that you can easily keep track of your progress due to most of the courses being split up into steps and weeks. Also, you might also be able to receive a certificate from an online course site to prove that you completed the course, but most online course sites are not accredited.

6. Watch YouTube Videos

There are plenty of YouTube videos which contain computer guides, tutorials, and examples. If you search on YouTube for a definition of a computer term or an answer to a question, you will likely find thousands of results. You should find one that suits your needs. The benefit of watching YouTube videos to learn more about computers is that you can actively watch demonstrations of just about anything.

7. Browse Forums

You can find answers to lots of computer questions on forums, such as Quora and Reddit. There is a good chance that one or more forum pages will appear in the search results when searching for help on a specific computing topic. They can be a useful source of information and advice, but make sure to check who the answers are coming from. The answers may be from people posting what they think are the right answers to any given question, which may not always be factually correct.

8. Familiarise Yourself With Computer Terms

Since there are so many computer terms from a wide range of topics, it would be almost impossible to learn all of them. However, familiarising yourself with the basic ones is another good way to learn more about computers because it will make it easier for you to understand answers to your questions and help you be more efficient with other technology.

9. Test Yourself With Quizzes

If you want to test yourself and find out what your knowledge gaps are, you can take computing quizzes on a topic of your choice. You will find a lot of computing quizzes if you search for them in a search engine and you can narrow them down to a topic of your choice. We have got quizzes here on topics that we have covered and you can find all the answers in the articles. To test what you know, you should answer the questions from memory and avoid looking up the answers.

Once you have taken a quiz, you can see which questions you got right and which ones you got wrong. You should also consider whether you knew the ones you got right or whether you guessed them. This can be used to find out your knowledge gaps, which you can learn from, and then take the quiz again to see if your score has improved.

10. Keep Up To Date With Computers

Computers, software, and technologies are constantly advancing. You should try to keep up to date by reading computer-related news, RSS feeds, newsletters, and following people on social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. This will enable you to receive updates on the latest technological developments, trends, and emerging technologies, and avoid falling behind.

Why Should I Learn More About Computers?

There are several benefits of learning more about computers. These include:

They help you work faster - Once you understand the basics of the activity or software, you can keep learning until you are an even more efficient user. For example, someone who is familiar with the keyboard shortcuts for the software and is good with it can work two or three times faster than someone who only understands the basics of the program.
It reduces the risks of being scammed - A knowledgeable computer user is less likely to be scammed, misled, or tricked. For example, someone who knows how to spot suspicious email attachments is less likely to open one than someone who is unaware of viruses and malware that spread by email attachments.
Computers can answer almost any question - You can learn almost anything on a computer, and you can use it to find answers to almost any question. With the help of YouTube and other websites, a lot of people have enhanced their talents to gain greater skills and a better career.
Computers can be used for remote communication - In the past, long-distance communication was only by mail. People had to write letters and send them via post to communicate with someone far away and had to wait days to get the letter by mail. Now, people can communicate using social media, email, instant messaging, and virtual meetings, which do not require people to be in the same location. This has sped up global communication and a knowledgeable computer user is more likely to know how to use these services, increasing efficiency.
Computers save paper use - One of the most important functions of computers is to store data. With computers, you can easily store and share files on the cloud, by email, or on storage devices, like USB flash drives without the need for any paper. Someone who is familiar with computers is more likely to store and share files electronically wherever possible, saving paper this way.