The Tree of Knowledge is a visual tool showing the connections of ideas. Because knowledge is dynamic and expansive, seeing it for the first time can be overwhelming. We're sure you have some questions about how to use it and get the most out of it. We've prepared this article to help you with these questions. It's essential to read the contents of this page to have a fruitful learning journey.
We have divided this article into three sections:
- The Nature of the Tree
- Creating Your Tree of Knowledge
- How to Learn?
1. The Nature of the Tree
To begin, you must understand the very essence of the Tree of Knowledge.
One of our objectives here in WeTheStudy is to make learning enlightening. When we see the connections among ideas, it is when learning is at its strongest. A natural and great way to show these is to plot these ideas on a canvas and tie them together - hence the Tree of Knowledge.
To help you quickly understand its nature, think of it as the following:
- It is an expansive, dynamic, and massive skill tree. If you've played video games, you might have encountered skill trees - tools that help the player develop their character. They spend points they've earned on the game to unlock an ability. It is the same when using the Tree of Knowledge. Choose the skills (or nodes) in the Tree, spend your time to unlock the benefits (by completing or mastering them), and use the knowledge you've learned to help you in your career or profession. Unlocking nodes enables you to create paths along the Tree - a great way to show how you've grown as a student or professional.
- It is an open-world game. Think of each node as a quest in video games. Accomplish each quest and reap the rewards. In these games, there is no order for what quest you want to pursue first. Where to begin your journey is up to you.
Tree Anatomy
To learn the different parts of the Tree of Knowledge, navigation, features, and interface, please read Tree Anatomy and User Interface.
2. Creating Your Tree of Knowledge
The goal for each person is to create their own personalized Tree of Knowledge. You can do that by "lighting up" the nodes and paths.
A mathematician's Tree differs from a physicist's or an engineer's. It means that every person's Tree is unique and would be dependent on your interests. To light up your Tree, you must complete or master the nodes; more of this in a while.
Why Create Your Tree?
- We want to give you a visual representation of the knowledge you've gained as a student or professional. Visualizing your learnings is an excellent way to see your progress. See how far you've come and discover the vast knowledge waiting for you to learn.
- We want to create a better, more reliable benchmark for academies, businesses, and institutions. When others view your Tree of Knowledge, they'll know exactly how extensive your competency is, unlike a degree certificate.
Where to Start?
Like an open-world game, you can choose where to begin! Good starting points are ideas you already know about or topics you're curious or passionate about.
One way to help you with which nodes to tackle is to follow specialized "Tracks." These are collections of nodes usually defining a path along the Tree. It usually represents a topic such as "Trigonometry," "Geometry," "Mechanics," "Physics," and more. For example, if you're learning "Trigonometry," start at those nodes belonging to that track.
Once you have started somewhere, it's easy to take the next step:
- From the first node, you can continue to adjacent nodes such as its parent, siblings, or children.
- Start on another new node. You don't necessarily have to follow the recommended path.
The most important thing is to start somewhere and to be able to kick off going from one node to the next. At the same time, while journeying the path, start lighting up your Tree.
For an even more comprehensive guide, visit "General Steps in Using the Tree."
How to Light Up My Tree?
To lighten up your Tree, you should aim to complete or master topics. You can see these buttons on the sidebar of each post.
- Completing is marking the node as read. Click on the "Mark as Complete" button to complete the node.
- Mastering is to show proficiency in the topic. It credits your progress toward Track completion. To master a node, you must take a quiz to show your comprehension by clicking "Master Node." To learn more about Mastery, click here.
When you complete or master nodes, the nodes in the Tree will light up accordingly. Completing or mastering adjacent nodes will light up the paths connecting them.
Mastering a series of nodes is an added benefit, mainly when these belong to a specific Track. If you've mastered all nodes, you will obtain a track certificate.
Please note that these features are only available to WeTheStudy members. You need an account to unlock the ability to light up your Tree.
Am I Required to Master Every Single Node?
Short answer - No! Please choose what you want to learn based on your interests. However, it would be impressive to master every single node in the Tree at a given time. If you do, please get in touch with us! We will happily reward you.
3. How to Learn?
To maximize your experience here at WeTheStudy, you must understand the following:
Learning should develop you.
- WeTheStudy believes that learning is a means to help you develop what you're passionate about and to use what you've learned to help the world make it better.
- It should help you in your education. The more nodes you light up, the more competency you have.
- The beauty of an inter-disciplined learning tool is that you can let your curiosity wander around the Tree. You are not limited to confining yourself to one discipline. This system encourages you to go out and learn and develop your interests. It is a better approach in a world wherein real-world problems are often interdisciplinary.
- To illustrate, say you're a STEM student searching for your calling; you can use the Tree and navigate with the basics first, like Math and Physics. From there, go and visit topics you are interested in. If you like Civil Engineering, for example, visit nodes related to that topic; however, if you want to see other disciplines, you are free to do so without any drawbacks. The knowledge you've gained while exploring Civil Engineering concepts remains as long as you track it.
Learning is a two-way process.
- Learning works if the teacher is willing to teach and the student is willing to learn.
- We are committed to growing our Tree by creating more content, strengthening each node, polishing our quizzes, and more.
- At the same time, you must be willing to show your interest and understanding in each node. Learning rewards the curious mind.
- Teachers and students should work together. That is why we also want to encourage our users to provide feedback. Visit the Contact page to express improvements, corrections, and evaluations. Please be respectful and courteous when making a message.
Learning is a continuous effort.
- "The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing."
- Learning takes some effort - it takes time. You won't see immediate results from your learnings, but continuously working for it will reap great benefits.
- You'll see your progress if you continue to work and build up your Tree. You will see your Tree light up slowly from one node to a couple, then dozens, then hundreds, then more. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing an unlit Tree become a well-rounded network of ideas.
- Take note that knowledge is dynamic. We must add, update, or even remove nodes as time passes. We call this Tree Evolution. As humanity's knowledge evolves, so too shall we. We can't be stagnant in a specific version only. Please click here for more information about what will happen to the nodes you have completed or mastered as the Tree evolves.
