5 Great Apps to Help You Learn New Skills
By Space Coast Daily // December 3, 2020
When was the last time you used an app? The chances are that your answer is less than 24 hours. You are certainly not alone. Apps have become such an essential part of our lives that it is hard to function without them.
Whether it be looking for discounts, socializing with friends, managing work tasks, or playing games, we use apps for them all.
The industry is becoming more and more successful with each passing year. As per Statista, 216 billion apps were downloaded by users in 2020.
MindSea further predicts that keeping in mind the current trend, over 258 billion apps will be downloaded in 2022.
Yet, sometimes we underestimate the benefits apps can help us realize. In fact, apps play a much more pivotal role in our lives than we give them credit for.
In today’s world, you don’t necessarily have to physically enroll yourself in a course to learn something; instead, some apps can do it for you. Here are some of the best apps out there for learning new skills.
Amazon Kindle
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average daily reading time of fifteen-year-old individuals was 22.8 minutes in 2005.
By 2017, this had reduced to 16.8 minutes. The habit of reading is declining. And this is an alarming statistic, considering the importance of reading for skill development.
There is one app that has somewhat reinstated the love of reading in many people. Amazon Kindle is a traditional learning app that gives its users access to unlimited reference guides, self-help books, how-to guides, and textbooks.
To read them, users must buy them. There are some books that are available for free as well. Compared to their physical counterparts, the paid digital versions available are less expensive. Some of the other competing apps, namely Nook and Google Play Books, are also worthy alternatives.
All in all, Amazon Kindle makes books more accessible, which helps provide a healthy environment for learning a new skill.
Duolingo
Whether it be sharpening your brain, improving your memory, or understanding the world better, there are various benefits of being multilingual.
However, learning a new language can be quite tricky, especially if you try to do so at a later age. According to various linguists, the best age to learn a language is during your childhood, when your brain is more flexible.
While the task may be more challenging once you are old, it is not impossible. One app that can prove to be of help during this skill development is Duolingo.
The app provides access to lessons in a variety of languages. Each language lessons are divided into various levels and stages to make the task seem less daunting. Additionally, the app uses a gamified format and interactive visuals to make the course seem fun.
The ad-free nature of the app makes it a great learning tool. While you are at it, combine this with a meditation app for optimum results. Many say that mindfulness makes learning a new language much easier.
Super Harvest Frenzy
Do you wish to improve your information processing speed?
There is no better way to do so than by solving puzzles. While many do not consider this to be a skill worth developing, it turns out that being able to understand problems and coming up with solutions promptly is a very crucial soft skill to have in the corporate world.
And it turns out that a fun game can help you develop this skill! Super Harvest Frenzy is a game available by airG. This game revolves around quickly interchanging fruits and vegetables to make a pattern vertically or horizontally.
There are two modes available, namely Challenge and Puzzle. The timed nature of the game, along with the challenges, makes it seems as if the stakes are higher – which is an ideal environment to learn a new skill. You can use this airG spam-free app to improve your information processing speed while having fun.
EDX
In today’s world, where most of us have found ourselves locked in our homes, owing to the pandemic, academics have been severely impacted. However, one silver lining of it all is that various platforms are now offering free courses to students.
One such app is EdX. The platform gives people access to course belonging to a variety of subjects, ranging from Biology to Business Management. To quantify it, there are over 2000 courses available on the site. And the courses are provided by some of the world’s top universities, including MIT, Harvard, and UC Berkeley.
Take notes that the platform does not include any formal degrees. Instead, it will just help you learn about your desired subjects.
Masterclass
It turns out that for a price, you can learn from the best mentors out there. Masterclass is an app that offers lessons in virtually all fields. And the best perk is that its courses include video classes from experts of each field, including Gordon Ramsey, Ron Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Margaret Attwood, and many more.
Additionally, users are given access to all resources and workbooks. Users are free to stream the classes as per their desire. They can choose to access it all, one bit at a time or all at once.
For a yearly subscription, people can learn any skills that they have an interest in from some of the best instructors in the respective fields.
Parting Thoughts
Learning a new skill is anything but easy. All in all, whether or not you succeed depends on your commitment to the task. Note that it is not going to be easy. You will have to put in the work. Once you do so, the skills you learn will stay with you for a lifetime.
So, use these apps to help you. Set your heart and mind to it. Learn away! The sky is the limit.
Author Bio
Audrey Throne has an ongoing affair with the words that capture readers’ attention. Her passion for writing dates back to her pre-blogging days. She loves to share her thoughts related to business, technology, health and fashion.
Find her on Twitter: @audrey_throne
