Although a lot of learning and education has a focus on academia and knowledge, it’s also important to know how to acquire new practical skills as well. These are things you can use in your average everyday life, and a lot of the time aren’t covered by any school or course, so to find out more you have to do the research yourself. These can include things such as home improvement or DIY, as well as financial management and taxes. One of the best ways to learn more about these areas is to go online, where a number of sites and articles combine pictures, videos and instructions to give a clear picture that is easy to follow. They can also link to related articles and websites, so you can get a deeper understanding if you wish.

WikiHow. Like it’s bigger cousin Wikipedia, WikiHow is a website that encourages user additions and edits in order to create a comprehensive learning resource. With a huge range of topics, anyone can insert their knowledge into a guide to make it just a little bit more useful. The site encourages photographs and step by step instructions, to ensure the guides are all easy to follow. The end result is a huge resource of highly detailed practical advice, gently shaped by multiple experts offering their opinion and experience.

HowStuffWorks. Sometimes knowing how something really works is the key to properly understanding it. This is true for maths, science and language as well as physical objects such as computers and cars. HowStuffWorks compiles articles dedicated to going beyond the surface level of everyday objects and concepts and helping you get the bigger picture. The subject areas span everything from entertainment to health, and sometimes take the form of lists and guides for things you may not have thought much about.

WonderHowTo. The great thing about online resources is that they gather together the expertise and experience of a huge range of people. In the case of WonderHowTo, this is collected in the form of articles which can be written by anyone and submitted to the site. The idea is to “show and tell” – to not only explain but demonstrate the thing you are interested in and can offer people. Writers of good content receive “Kudos” from users, which also helps readers identify who the best content creators are.

This kind of practical knowledge can aid your everyday life in a deeper way than book based academia, and knowing how and where to find it is in itself a useful skill.