Always Learning

Are you unemployed or underemployed? If you are not getting the job you want, you may need to brush up on some basic skills. Employers are complaining that they can't find applicants with strong skills in math, writing, teamwork, and communication. Give yourself an edge over other applicants by improving your skills. You may be one of those rare folks who are quick with calculations, statistics, and probability as well as being eloquent in your writing. Most of us need to keep practicing and learning new skills.

You may want to take a college or adult education class to improve your knowledge, or if you are self-motivated, you may get help online. There are a number of websites that offer free math assessments, practice lessons, and videos. There are even iTunes apps for math, history, science, and many more. Just don't try studying math while driving!

"Video Math Tutor" at iTunes U offers a basic math course you can watch anytime you have a few minutes. I was ready to skip the section on measurement since I'm already familiar with inches, centimeters, quarts, liters, etc. But I decided to check into it, and see if the course might be helpful for someone else. I was surprised at how many measurements I was unfamiliar with. For example a hectometer, a score, a gross, etc. I must admit that I come across a measurement for a ream much more often than a score, but I found the lesson very interesting. A few websites for math online are:

• Khan Academy Video Library has video lessons in Algebra through Calculus.
• Purplemath has free Algebra lessons, tutoring, quizzes, and study tips.
• Simple math games Funbrain will test your speed. For kids up to ninth grade and adults who want to challenge their basic skills.

There are so many ways, many of them free, to learn math or brush up on skills. If you have a favorite math site, post it, and share with others. Learning is not just for the classroom. You can learn anytime, anywhere. Find the method that works best for you, and enjoy learning!