Momen is a 16 old blogger from Saudi Arabia, learning and teaching languages online. Recently he built his own online business offering Arabic Language tutoring on arabtutors.com. On his blog he encourages us to pick up a good book and advocates reading in general and memory training techniques.
Today we asked Momen what it means for him to be a connected individual in an increasingly globalized world.
Hi, Momen. You have built your own homepage, blog and you know how to use all kinds of online publishing tools. What do you think are the advantages of having those skills? Or in other words: What do you find fascinating about working with homepages, blogs and Social Media?
I will not deny that publishing tools (blogs, homepages, etc…) have recently aided me greatly. After working with them for several months, I can now notice how they have become powerful tools that made connecting with the whole world possible. Indeed, blogs, websites, along with Social Media have significant advantages one must not forget when dealing with online businesses. These publishing tools give you the opportunity to advertise any of your products, express and share your ideas, and get to know new individuals. As a matter of fact, I was really enthralled at how effective those publishing tools were when I worked with them. And in my opinion, having the skills to implement those tools online wisely is so essential and helpful to ensure a productive online business.
How does it affect your life to be connected to individuals from all over the world through Facebook, Skype and Twitter? And: Are those relationships you have online different than the relationships to your friends and family in “real life”?
Actually it is an amazing experience to have friends from all over the world. I can now feel that I’m not limited to how many friends I can have or from what nationality they are. I’m now free! In addition, Facebook, Twitter, and Skype have been my lovely assistants that made meeting new people online possible. Online friends are absolutely different from real life ones. Having never met each other face-to-face from before, you both are likely to develop a different relationship than that you develop with your real life friends and family. As for me, I try to maintain my friendly personality while dealing with online friends. I have also observed how rarely the quarrels and disagreements happen with online friends, unlike real ones. I believe everyone should try and make some friends online!
You are currently finishing your school in Saudi Arabia. I’m curious if you are learning how to use computers and technology in your classes?
If you are speaking about learning how to use computers to benefit ourselves in our life, then no. Basically, our school has been mainly focusing on teaching programming languages (ex. Visual Basics) rather than focusing on technology aspects. I am convinced that this is wrong. My school, and all other schools, must aim on increasing students’ awareness regarding the critical role technology and computers are playing in life. In addition to that, they can introduce to students programming languages and other computer softwares.
Do you think kids will continue going to school, or will more and more of the basic education happen online?
Well, I can tell you that I do have a positive feeling that says basic education is going to be done online in the near future. I believe that if this process is applied, parents all over the world will favor the idea of having their children learning in the comfort of their homes, rather than sending them to school everyday. Although it does have its disadvantages, its advantages are much dominating which ensures an effective and successful learning experience. I’m assured to say that online education does not lack any element the basic education needs for a maximum learning benefit.
And what are your plans for the future? Do you intend to go to University or maybe continue building your online business fulltime?
As for my future plans, I guess I’ll be doing both. Building my online business, however, will not be my full time job. For sure, I’ll be concentrating on my university studying, while I’ll work on my online business during my spare time. Well, I believe attending university is going to be an essential part for my online business success. You can think of studying in University as being complementary to having an online business. Meeting new people and being in touch with business professors will certainly assist me with my online business. Definitely, University studying will aid me in generating a fruitful and powerful online business that will surely benefit the online society.
To end with something practical: You seem to know a lot about Memory Training. Can you give our audience maybe just one hint, if they have an important exam coming up, what can they do?
A neat mind map is going to be your ideal tool and helpmate. The main job of a mind map is to help you link and organize information. Scientific studies have shown that a mind map is a genius powerful tool that can abet you not only with your studies, but also with your writing, problem solving, and even decision making. Before an exam, you can sketch up a (colorful) mind map including the information you need to study for the test. By revising it, you will make sure you have linked and associated all important information needed for the exam. Besides, mnemonic techniques, including the Major system, are so helpful while studying. You should not dismiss from your mind that having enough sleeping hours will nurture the information you have studied in the previous day, preparing you for the exam.
Thank you very much for the Interview, Momen.
I’m the one who must thank you 🙂
