Impact Of Mobile Technology For Students Information Technology Essay

Impact Of Mobile Technology For Students Information Technology Essay In todays world mobile devices are used as not only for communication tool but also it is used as other purposes like instant mail, uploading photos, SMS and digital library. In 19th century mobile are introduced only for voice call but now there are many features are implemented in the mobile devices so they can communicate and gets entertainment with new mobile technology like games, internet, mp3 player and videos. People can use mobile devices with new technology and they can use their mobiles in this way. According to Hosny, Mobile devices are of many types such as cellular phone, ipods, PDAs, wireless data networks and Bluetooth devices which are presently in the market. There are many mobile technologies which are used in the mobile education which are very helpful to the university students. The technologies are Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), SMS, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), 3G technologies, Bluetooth technologies and XML these are technologies which are used in the Mobile education. WAP, this technology is used in the mobile to connect the internet and access the internet. 3G technology provides high range of bandwidth so user can access the data very fast and efficiently. 3G phones provides in such way that mobile can be used as computer as we can see TV and read newspapers and digital books. XML language is a Meta language that communicates the data. It is used mainly to develop mobile applications. Introducing mobile technology like smart phones and e book readers in mobile devices helps the students a lot. Students can use their laptops in a particular environment like universities and classrooms but they can use their mobiles where ever they can. E books are those which are in digital form they can download and access the e books through their mobile devices. As these devices are portable and now a days most of the mobiles have Wi-Fi technology students can use their mobiles for personal use no one cannot use their mobiles without their permission. Students cant take laptops from one place to other every time. Students can use their mobiles for on-line bank transactions. Video streaming can also be accessed by using separate software in mobiles. Now implementation of new technology like Bluetooth they can share files from one mobile to other mobiles (Ling et al, 2002). With the new technologies that are implemented in the mobiles devices (blackberry and i-phone) are very useful for the university students. With Smartphone students can access e books that are very useful for education purpose and its time consuming. All the time students cant go the university library and access their computers. Students can store the course content information in their mobiles and retrieve the information about their course. When students are travelling in public transport if they want any information regarding student support services they cant open their laptops conveniently and cant access the internet but they can use their mobiles conveniently. As mobiles are light weight they can take with them anywhere. The main advantages of mobiles are they are not hyperlinked and they are network shared so people can access the data very easily. Students cant talk chat or video conference in flexibly because its private for them but students can chat with their mobiles mo re flexibly with their mobiles. Mobile learning is very useful to the university students because if students fail to attend a particular reason he can directly access the lecture in their mobiles but university must implement this technology so that students can benefit. Mobile learning helps the students to be flexibly in their learning. There is also disadvantage of mobile learning because university students cant to some practicals such as labs related to the electronics, VLSI labs, networking related labs. So students can start learning in mobile but not able to electronics and network related practicals. if they cant attend the university this shows negative impact on their studies and also people cant access more e books in mobile because of less memory (nor et al, 2006). Students who are using mobiles in high school stage can have negative impact on their studies and cant concentrate on their studies. High school students can misuse the mobile technology because they are very crazy about new technology mobiles. School students can easily addict to the games that are implemented with new technology (animated, bike racing etc) that will show a great negative impact on school students. School administrators should take care of not using mobile phone in their school because they cant concentrate on studies in the class room. Parents should take care of their children by not using mobile phones in nights if they addicted to mobile games they will not sleep in time and fell full stress when they get up in the morning. Mobile technology helps business people more compared to other category of people because business people travel more from one place to other place of business purposes. If there is no wireless networks in which they are travelling it is very difficult to access internet if they is also having laptops with them but there is no problem with the mobiles to access internet as mobiles are network share connectivity. Business people, if he is higher official in the organization if he cant give correct information related to business issues when is travelling this will lead to many problems in the organization but he can solve problems by new trend of mobile technology. According to the hosny and pagani all of them are mentioned about the positive impact of the mobile technology but there are many negative impacts of mobile technology. But people who are not aware of new technology cant use of mobile technology. If mobile phones are stolen all the sensitive information that can be taken that leads to many problems especially to business people. They mainly focused on advantages of mobile technology and they should have also focused on the disadvantages of the mobile technology (Hosny , 2007). 1.1 Draw Backs With the Mobile Technology for Students By using this, mobile phones emit microwave radiations to communicate with each other. By accessing internet in the mobiles there is scope virus threat which can affect the mobile devices and can lose the important data. Students can addict in using this technology which shows negative impact on their studies. While driving their vehicles people who are using mobile phones must be kept aside if they use those leads to accident sometimes. 1.2 Project Outline Research approach I follow to do my research is deductive approach. Qualitative method is used to study this research by conducting group of interviews to the people like university students, high school students and business people. I will collect the data by conducting In-depth interviews to university students and focused group interviews to high school students, common people and business people. I will select the university students because they can use the mobile technology more for education and entertainment purposes and high schools students because they are very crazy for use of mobile phones and business people because they use mobile phones for their business needs. I will collect the data from the different people how the mobile technology is used in their daily life. Qualitative method: I will conduct In-depth interviews to the university students and prepared some set of questionnaires which are yet be asked in the interview and I will use tape recorder as data collection instrument to collect the data from the university students. Data that I collected from the different people is answer to what is the impact of mobile technology on the students. Many university students have so many benefits of mobile technology and many students have some problems in using mobile technology. Implementation of mobile learning in the universities is a good idea to implement m-learning in the universities. Through m-learning, university students can listen to lecture class or tutor sessions through mobiles by using m-learning technology but students cant get the practical knowledge. With the introduction of GPS system in the mobile devices they can track any information about the university but it needs permission from the university but information can be acces sed for the particular student who is studying in that university. Many students use their mobiles only for entertainment and social networking websites and they could not be used as mobile education purposes. Students can lose their mobiles very easily and the important information can be lost with mobile it leads to many problems for the university students. Some students use their mobiles only for their daily life use but not for other purposes because they are not aware of new technology (Hosny, 2007). School students can use their mobile only for chatting, SMS and playing games with mobiles. Mobile technology cant be used for the education purpose because they cant concentrate on studies with the mobiles and they are diverted to entertainment purpose with those mobiles. I think school students use their mobiles only for playing games when they are free and not for any other purposes. Most of the students are not aware of the new technology and what software used in their mobiles. Common people who are using mobiles cant spend their day without the use of mobiles. Some common people who are working can listen to songs and play games in their mobiles when they are bored when they are travelling in public transport and some applications in their mobiles benefit a lot. Some of the old people can spend their day without the use of mobiles and by using mobiles they can have some impact on their health because of radiations from the mobile phones. There are many problems with this newly invented mobile technology because people are not aware of these new technologies and sometimes they can misuse these mobile technologies. Mobile battery should be manufactured in such way that battery should be charged so that users can use enjoy the applications in the mobile devices. Low effective battery cant give much life to the mobile devices. Security is main concern for every technology. If they dont provide more security, users cant buy mobiles which provide less security (Sattler et al, 2010). 1.2.1 Aim and Objectives Aim: The main aim of this paper is to do a proper research on the impact of mobile technology on the students daily life. Objectives: One of the objectives of this paper is to analyze the usage of mobile technology on the students. To find how mobile technology had impact on the people in the present world. To do a proper research on the mobile technology on all types of age people. Main concentration is how students are using the mobile technology whether they are having the good impact or bad impact on the students. 1.3 Research Questions Is mobile devices has the technology that supports mobile learning? How often do you use regularly students use mobile device (like using internet, MMS, SMS etc) for your course activities in class room in a day? 1.4 Deliverables: How Mobile technology has impact on the students Information which is gathered from the students need to be arranged in the structured format. Later on concentrating on each review proposed to do a research based on the opinions which matched mostly. Different types of method are concentrated on doing the research on the students. Suggestions are noted from the students on the impact of mobile technology. Previous researchers data related to the impact of mobile technology on the people need to be concentrated. 1.5Evaluation The new generation people are very much attracted to the web based resources, social networking and digital media. As the people are grown with the web especially students must be encouraged to use of mobile technology in their university campuses so that they can again diverse range of experience. Only some of the students are using new mobile technologies and other students are using only for making phone calls. Students who are not following the traditional process of learning mobile learning are very useful to those students. The main advantage of the mobile learning is students can access anywhere and at any time. Mobile technology is less cost effective compared to other technologies. Students can use SMS to answer there Quiz questions online with new SMS server is implemented in mobile devices this helps the students so that they can answer all the questions at any time instead of sitting at one place. But there are some problems with this as mobile devices have small keypad i t is difficult to type and they can enter wrong characters it leads to problems. People who are living in the rural areas can again many benefits by using mobile technology because in rural areas they cant have the broadband connection. People who earning less income and people who wants to save money they can use mobile technology as it is very cheap compared to other broadband technology. Compared to computers and laptops, mobiles have disadvantage because they have small screen resolution, less memory and battery life is low. This will show impact on mobile educational application which in turn affects the students. Mobile learning helps the students to be focused for long time, can raise their self confidence and can experience more learning on individual modules. 1.6 Research Methodology The procedure in which the information is collected and handled in the process of designing the desired system is the research methodology. The information set for the purpose of research can be generally categorized as: Qualitative research and Quantitative research. Qualitative research is defined as the research which aims to develop the understanding of how and why individuals and group of persons (social world) operate in a particular approach. Whereas the Quantitative research is defined as the research implicated or interested with the examining entities where the prevailed observations and measurements can make without prejudice and repeated by investigators. .

How Global Warming Impacts the World

Nowadays, we are concerned with the increasing temperature nowadays, which has a great effect on the earth. When it becomes hotter, the most evident change we can see is in sea level. Icebergs all over the world are melting and change from ice to water, which has larger volume. As a result, more space has to be occupied to contain water instead of icebergs, and sea level increases. Many beaches are getting smaller, and some islands are even disappearing. It was also reported that some countries based on the islands of East Asia had to move to Australia because of the increasing sea level. Animals and human are suffering from the process. Not only polar bears, but also penguins and other animals have less space to live on or less food to eat because of the melting icebergs. Meanwhile, they are used to cold weather and are forced by global warming to get used to a higher temperature, which may increase their death rate. Human are also affected. The number of people dying from extreme hot weather is increasing, which makes the others worry al lot. In an addition point, global warming also has impacts on agriculture. Weather conditions and soil change in response to global warming, and as a consequent, places like Russia benefit from global warming for they can grow more kinds of food in a larger area, while places like Africa suffer from the expanding deserts results from global warming. Despite agriculture, there are also other indirectly effects on economy and many other aspects, and people are now finding solutions for them. The first thing to do is giving out less Carbon dioxide or other gases related to global warming. To achieve the goal, less electricity should be used, car should be driven less frequently, and alternative energy resources should partly replace the traditional ones. Greater emphasis has been put on planting trees to absorb Carbon dioxide. In the short term, special zoos can also be set up for animals like polar bear to provide them with enough food and places. As it can be seen, climate change has directly or unconsciously impacts on ecology, agriculture and other aspects. Serious though it seems, it can be solved with technology and everyone's efforts.

Good Leaders Are Made Not Born

A PROJECT REPORT ON BEHAVIOURAL ASPECT OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURAL ASPECT OF LEADERSHIP BUSINESS SCHOOL OF DELHI GREATER NOIDA SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY: PROF. VEENU ARORA ROHIT KUMAR PGDM(2011-13) INTRODUCTION Good leaders are made not born . If you  have the desire and will power ,you can become an effective leader. good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self study, education, training and experience.This guide will help you through that process. to inspire your people into higher  levels of teamwork, there are certain things you  must be, know ,and ,do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work  and study. The best leaders are continually working and  studying to improve their leadership skills. Before we get started, les define leadership. Leadership is  a complex process by which a person influences others to accomplish a mission, task or objective  and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and cohe rent.A person carries out this process by applying his or  her leadership attributes (belief, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills). Although your position as a  manager, supervisor, lead, etc. s and objectives in the organization, this power does not make you a leader†¦ it simply makes you the boss. Leadership makes people  want to achieve high goals and objectives, while, on  the other hand, bosses tell people to accomplish a  task or an objective. Bass' (1) theory of leadership states that there  are three basic ways to explain how people become  leaders, the first two explain the leadership development for a small  number of people.These theories are: Some personality traits  may lead people naturally into leadership  roles. Tg is  is THE  TRAIT THEORY. Crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is THE GREAT EVENT THEORY. People can choo se to become leaders. People can learn  leadership skills. This is THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY. It is most widely accepted theory today and the premise  on which this guide is based. When a person is deciding if  he respects you as a leader, hedoes not think about your attributes.He observes what you do so that he can know who you really are. He uses this observation to tell if you are an honourable and trusted leader, or a self serving person who misuses his or her  authority to look good and get promoted. Self serving leaders are not as effective  because their employees only obey them, not  follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good image  to their seniors at the expense of their  people. The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization .In  your employees' eyes,  Your leadership is everything you do that  affects the organizations objectives and their well being. A  respected leader concentrates on what she is [be] (beliefs  and character), what she knows job, tasks, human nature), and what she  does (implement, motivate, provide direction). What makes a person follow a leader? People want to guided by those they respect and those who  have a clear sense of direction. to gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the  future. TWO MOST IMPORTANT KEYS OFLEADERSHIPHay's study examined over 75 key components of  employee satisfaction. They found that: trust and confidence in  top leadership was the single most reliable  predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization. Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was  the key to win  organizational trust and confidence: helping the employees understand the company's overall business strategy. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key  business objectives. Bring information with employe es on both  how the company is doing and how an own  employee's division is doing -relative to strategic business objectives.So basically, you must be trustworthy and you  have to be able to communicate a vision of where you are going. Notice how the â€Å"PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP† in the next section closely ties in with this. HUMAN RELATIONS The six most important words: â€Å"i admit i made a mistake. â€Å"The five most important words: â€Å"you  did a good job. â€Å"The four most important words: â€Å"what is  your opinion. â€Å"The three most important words: â€Å"if you please. â€Å"The two most important words: â€Å"thank  you. â€Å"The one most important word: â€Å"we. â€Å"The least most important word: PRINCIPLE OF LEADERSHIPTO HELP YOU BE, KNOW, AND DO, (2) FOLLOW THESE ELEVEN principles of leadership (later sections will expand on  gaining an insight into these principles and  providing tools to perform them):Know yourself an d seek self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through reading, self-study, classes, etc. be technically proficient. As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' jobs. Seek responsibility and take  responsibility of your actions. Search for ways to guide  your organization to new heights.And when things go wrong, they will sooner or later, do not blame others. Analyze the  situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge. Make sound and timely decisions. Use good problem solving, decision making and planning tools. Set the example. Be a good role model for  your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do but also see. Know your people and  look out for their well-being. Know human nature and importance of sincerely  caring for your workers. Keep your people informed. Know how to communicate with your people within the organization. Develop a sense of responsibility in  your people.Develop good character traits within your people that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished. Communication is the key to this responsibility. Train your  people as a team. Although many so called leaders call their  organization, department, section, etc. A team; they are not really teams†¦ they are just a group of people doing their jobs. Use the  full capabilities of your organization. By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilitiesFACTORS OF LEADERSHIP The four major factors of leadership are †¦.. THE FOLLOWER: Different people require different styles of  leadership. For example,  a new hire requires  more supervision than an experienced employee. A person with  a different attitude requires a different approach than one with a  high degree of  motivation. You must know  your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human  nature: needs, emotions, and motivation. You must know your employees' be, know and do attributes. LEADER:  You must have an honest understanding of who you  are, what you know, and what you can do.Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader who determines  if a leader is  successful. If a follower does no it trust or lacks confidence in his or her leader, then she will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your supervisors, that you are worthy of being followed. COMMUNICATION: You lead through two way  communication. Much of it is non-verbal. For instance, when you â€Å"set the example,† that communicates to your people that you would no task them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do.What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your emp loyees. SITUATION: All situations are different. What you  do in one leadership situation will not always work in another situation. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee  for inappropriate behavior, but the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective . ATTRIBUTES if you are a leader  that can be trusted, then the  people around you will learn to respect you.To be a good leader, there are things thtu must be, know, and do. these fall under the  leadership framework: BE a professional. BE a professional who possess good character traits. KNOW the four factors of leadership- follower, leader, communication, situation. KNOW yourself . KNOW human nature KNOW your job KNOW your organization. DO provide direction. DO implement. DO motivate. Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning The Tu ck man model(2)shows the five stages that teams go through: from Forming to Storming to Norming to Performing to Adjourning.Forming In the Forming stage, team members are introduced. They state why they were chosen  or volunteered for the team and what they hope to accomplish within the team. Members cautiously explore the boundaries of acceptable group behavior. This is a stage of transition  from individual to member status, and of testing the leader's guidance both formally and informally. Forming includes these feelings and behaviors: Excitement, anticipation, and optimism. Pride in being chosen for the  project A tentative attachment to the team Suspicion and anxiety about the job.Defining the tasks and how they will be accomplished. Determining acceptable group behavior. Deciding what information needs to be gathered. Abstract discussions of the concepts and issues, and for some members, impatience with  the discussions. There will be difficulty in identifying some of the relevant  problems. Because there is so much  going on to distract members' attention in the beginning, the team accomplishes little, if anything, that concerns it's project goals. This is perfectly normal. Storming During the team's transition from the â€Å"As-Is† tothe â€Å"To-Be,† is called the Storming phase.All members have their own ideas as to how theprocess should look, and personal agendas arerampant. Storming is probably the most difficultstage for the team. They begin to realize thetasks that are ahead are different and  moredifficult than they imagined. Impatient about thelack of progress, members argue about just whatactions the team should take. They try to relysolely on their personal and professionalexperience, and resist collaborating with most  of  the other team members. Storming includes these feelings and behaviors:Resisting the tasks. Resisting quality improvement approachessuggested by other members.Sharp fluctuations in attitude about the teamand the project's chance of success. Arguing among members even when they agreeon the real issues. Defensiveness, competition, and choosing sides. Questioning the wisdom of those who selectedthis project and appointed the other  membersof the team. Establishing unrealistic goals. Disunity, increased tension, and jealousy. The above pressures mean that team  membershave little energy to  spend on progressingtowards the team's goal. But they  are beginningto understand one another. This phase sometimestakes 3 or 4 meetings before arriving at theNorming phase.Norming The Norming phase is when the team reaches aconsensus on the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To-Be† process. Everyonewants to share the  newly found focus. Enthusiasmis high, and the team is tempted to go beyond theoriginal scope of the process. During this stage,members reconcile competing loyalties andresponsibilities. They accept the team, teamground rules, their roles in the team, and theindividuality of fellow members. Emotionalconflict is reduced as previously competitiverelationships become more cooperative. Norming includes these feelings and behaviors:An ability to express criticism  constructively.Acceptance of membership in the team. An attempt to achieve harmony  by avoidingconflict. More friendliness, confiding in each other, andsharing of personal problems. A sense of team cohesion, spirit,  and goals. Establishing and maintaining team ground rules and boundaries. As team members begin to work out their differences, they now have more time  and energy to spend on the project. Performing The team has now settled its relationships andexpectations. They can begin performing bydiagnosing, solving problems, and choosing andimplementing changes.At last team membershave discovered and accepted each  other'sstrengths and weakness, and learned what theirroles are. Performing includes these feelings andbehaviors:Members have insights into personal and  groupprocesses, and bett er understanding of eachother's strengths and weakness. Constructive self-change. Ability to prevent or work  through groupproblemsClose attachment to the teamThe team is now an effective, cohesive unit. Youcan tell when your team has reached this stagebecause you start getting a lot  of work done. Adjourning The team briefs and shares the  improved processduring the this phase.When the team finallycompletes that last briefing, there is always abittersweet sense of accomplishment coupledwith the reluctance to  say good-bye. Manyrelationships formed within these teams continuelong after the team disbands TEAM VS GROUP There are several factors that separate teamsfrom groups. Roles and  Responsibilities Within a group, individuals establish a set of  behaviors called roles. These roles setexpectations governing relationships. Roles oftenserve as source of confusion and conflict. Whileon the other hand, teams have a sharedunderstanding on how to perform their role.These rol es include: leader, facilitator,timekeeper, and recorder. Identity While teams have an identity, groups do not. It isalmost impossible to establish the sense of  cohesion that characterizes a team without thisfundamental step. A team has a  clearunderstanding about what constitutes the team's'work' and why it is  important. They can describea picture of what the team needs to achieve, andthe norms and values that will guide them Cohesion Teams have an esprit that shows a sense of  bonding and camaraderie. Esprit is the spirit,soul, and state of mind of the team.It is theoverall consciousness of the team that  a personidentifies with and feels  a part of. Individualsbegin using â€Å"we† more than â€Å"me. † Facilitate Groups have a tendency to get bogged down withtrivial issues. Ask yourself, â€Å"How much time getswasted in meetings you attend? † Teams usefacilitators to keep the team on the right path. Communication While members of a group are  centered uponthemselves, the team is committed to opencommunication. Team members feel they canstate their opinions, thoughts, and feelingswithout fear. Listening is considered as importantas speaking.Differences of opinion is valued andmethods of managing conflict are understood. Through honest and caring feedback, membersare aware of their strengths and weakness  asteam members. There is an  atmosphere of trustand acceptance and a sense of community. Flexibility Most groups are extremely rigid. Teams, howevermaintain a high level of flexibility, and theyperform different task and maintenance functionsas needed. The responsibility for teamdevelopment and leadership is shared. Thestrengths of each member are identified  andused. Morale Team members are enthusiastic about the work of  the team and each person feels pride in being a 16 ember of the team. Team spirit is high. To be asuccessful team, the group must have a  strongability to produce results and a  high degre e of  satisfaction in working with one  another. Working With Other TeamMembers Although we are like in many ways, we are dislikein a lot more ways. Humans have always tried toclassify things, including themselves. This sectionuses a popular categorizer by placing people intofour styles – Driver, Persuader, Analyzer,Organizer. (note that the names will vary widelydepending upon the creator of the chart). It  doesthis by charting them on two dimensions – tasksand emotions.People gets results on tasksbetween two extremes – expedience andprocesses. People use emotions in dealing withothers through two extremes – controlled orresponsive. In the chart below, the twodimensions are shown under the profile Character: Be a piece of the  rock †¢ Charisma: The first impression can seal the deal. †¢ Commitment: It seperates doers from  dreamers †¢ Communication: without it you travel alone †¢ Competence: if you build it they will come à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Courage: one person with courage is a  majority †¢ Discernment: put an end to  unsolved mysteries †¢Focus: the sharper it is, the sharper you are †¢ Generosity: your candle loses nothing when it lights another †¢ Initiative: you wont leave home without it †¢ Listening: to connect with their hearts use your ears 43 †¢ Passion: take this life and love it †¢ Positive attitude: if you believe you can, you can †¢ Problem solving: you cant let  your problems be a problem †¢ Relationships: if you get along they will go along †¢ Resposibility: if you wont carry the ball you wont lead theteam †¢ Security: competence never compensates for insecurity †¢ Self-discipline: the first person you lead is you †¢

12 Tips for Self-Education in Writing

Autodidactism is the art of self-education, which is teaching yourself about a new subject. For self-education in any topic, there are three forms of learning: niche knowledge, skill development, and liberal understanding. Many eager seekers of knowledge focus only on one or two of the forms, but applying all three will allow you to excel at writing. Niche knowledge refers to learning the fundamental knowledge necessary to successfully write. These are grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Skill development, or ability, focuses on applying the fundamental knowledge to practice your craft. For writing, this means effectively creating the work product you’re looking for. Examples include fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Finally, liberal understanding is a broader concept. While the self-educator is working hard to learn the fundamentals and practice his/her skill development, it’s beneficial to take a step back and learn by absorbing the history, theory, and great works of literature. Below are 12 steps for learning how to write. Tip # 1 (Niche Learning) – Spelling and Grammar Just like you can’t drive without learning which pedal is the gas and which is the brake, good writing is impossible without impeccable spelling and grammar. Search online for â€Å"spelling exercises† and there will be many interactive tools that relentlessly drive home correct spelling. Purchase a good dictionary for reference, such as one from Webster or Oxford Dictionaries. Many online courses are also available that teach basic grammar. Choose one from alison.com, www.englishgrammar101.com, or similar. To supplement grammar knowledge, purchase a good reference book that you can consult once you’ve learned the basics. One option is the 16th edition of the Chicago Style of Manual. It has about 300 pages devoted to grammar and standard usage. Note that it’s fine to rely on word processing spellcheckers and grammar checkers, but these should be reminders, not form the basis for proper spelling and grammar. Tip # 2 (Niche Learning) – Vocabulary While spelling and grammar are fundamental, good writing in English takes advantage of the rich array of words in the English language. Consult an online thesaurus or purchase one in book form. Tip # 3 (Niche Learning) – Practice Once the basics have been learned, practice until you can write sentences and paragraphs with proper spelling, grammar and vocabulary. Tip # 4 (Skills Development) – Short Stories For those interested in fiction writing, short stories are a great way to hone your craft before embarking on a novel. Mastering plots, scenes, dialogue and character development takes time and practice. Writer’s Digest Books has a series of books dedicated to each of these components. Tip #5 (Skills Development) – Poetry Not all aspiring writers plan to create poetry, but practicing it forces you to be economical with words and helps expand your vocabulary. Tip # 6 (Skills Development) – Screenplays Screenplays help development scenes and dialogue. Successful dialogue in a screenplay will help make the dialogue in your fiction credible and compelling. Tip # 7 (Skills Development) – Test Yourself Once you’ve had some practice writing short stories, poetry, or screenplays, enter writing contests. Hundreds of magazines have annual writing contests. Usually the winning prize is publication in the magazine. If editors like your work, chances are it’s pretty good. Tips 8 through 10 (Liberal Understanding) – Further Lectures The self-taught writer’s work will improve by gaining a deeper understanding of the theory and history of writing. Here are several free online lectures from Yale University that will help with this. Tip 8 – The history and theory of literature. Tip 9 – Modern American fiction. Tip 10 – Poetry from the classics to modern. Tips 11 and 12 (Liberal Understanding) – Learning Through Reading The self-taught writer’s work will improve by exposure to works by the great writers. Tip 11 – Choose five books from the Harvard Shelf of Classics and read them. Tip 12 – Choose a successful writer in your genre of interest and read them.