As an active participant in the learning process, you should affect the manner in which you deal with the material to be learned. You need a sense of ownership of the learning goals  to make you both willing and able to receive instruction. A study by Salomon found that  mental effort depends on one's own perception of two factors:

• the relevance of both the medium and the message which it contains
• his ability to make something meaningful out of the material presented.

Curriculum will vary, and much depends on the subject and learning environment.  Languages need practice and 'hands on' experience is vital to other topics.  Most importantly, the motivation of the learner is the single most important factor.

In order to illustrate this, consider the following.  A person trying to learn the operation of a parachute will be much more likely to internalize the information if he or she is falling from an airplane at the time.  Conversely, a person marooned on a desert island, alone, without hope of rescue, is unlikely to learn the proper use of a dessert fork in a formal setting.

To summerize, the amount and type of information you learn is ultimately dependant on you, especially in a distance learning environment.  If you need the information, or can persuade yourself that you do, you will learn it.  If, on the other hand, you are looking for an 'easy' way to learn, you won't find it outside of a classroom environment.  Schools exist, and have existed throughout history, because they are the easiest and most effective way to learn.  Self-motivation is often insufficient to the task of learning an unfamiliar subject.