Thanks to the Internet, if you’re looking to gain some knowledge, there are now countless places that you can have access to knowledge for free. There are courses from top tier Universities, and courses being put out by talented individuals looking to share the knowledge – now available for all to learn. There is literally every subject available, so if you’ve always wanted to gain a college education but never had the opportunity, now is the time. Here are some of the best places to learn online for free:
This initiative was started by MIT back when they put their first batch of courses online in 2002. Now it has over 200 organizations (including 22 Universities from the US like John Hopkins and MIT) from over 40 countries offering up their courses on the site. The courses available on the site range from Business to engineering to physics to the arts – pretty much anything that is also available in traditional Universities worldwide.
If video is more your thing, then head over to YouTube to watch more than cute cat videos. YouTube has organized videos by subject and also education levels (like primary school, university, etc.). Now you genuinely have an excuse for being on YouTube.
Another site full of videos, TED is the home for motivational, inspirational, and educational short talks from noteworthy people from all around the world. Talks are kept short but interesting and I can guarantee you’ll spend hours listening to them.
Another site with top University partnerships like Yale and Princeton, Coursera even offers verified certifications (for a fee) for certain courses that show the individual has taken and passed the course.
Founded by MIT and Harvard Business School graduate Sal Khan, Khan Academy’s mission is to offer free education to everyone. They have big supporters including the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Google, Bank of America and more. The courses here are short in-house courses (around 15 minutes) that cover everything from all-levels of math to SATs and macroeconomics.
Another great aggregate website that offers courses from Universities all over the world. However, edX is a little more limited in its offering as compared to Coursera, as they mainly offer courses from MIT, Harvard and University California-Berkeley.
So as you can see, it is never too late to start. And now thanks to all the initiatives mentioned above, all you need is a working Internet connection and your computer and you’re set to gain top notch education as long as you’re willing. Good luck!
Codecademy is also pretty good for learning code. Similar I guess to Khan.