Whether you’re in school or not, there’s always good reason to continue learning. Luckily, there are many resources out there to help you expand on current skills and learn new ones. Here are some resources to help you get started.
Lynda
Lynda.com is my go-to site when it comes to learning new skills. The site features in-depth video courses, and some also include exercises to keep the lessons hands-on. Most of what I’ve done on Lynda.com features technical skills, but I’ve seen such a wide array of topics on the site. Just browsing around, I see some courses on topics like public speaking and photography as well.
There’s one catch to this site – the membership is pretty costly! But chances are, you might already have access. My college provides lifetime access to this site and I’ve been using it regularly since I found out. Some library systems also offer access. So be sure to check out if you have this learning service because it’s such a useful site to have access to and will really help broaden your skillset. And while you’re at it, check out what other services your library or school might have!
Coursera
Coursera is a site that features complete online courses you can enroll in, taught by professors at top schools. At a first glance, there are a lot of computer science courses. But as you dig deeper, you can find courses for business, social sciences, and more. These courses can be especially useful if you’re looking to build upon a skill set you already have, or if you’d like something with a little more structure.
Depending on which courses you choose, there may or may not be a fee attached. Courses typically offer graded assignments and a certificate, which, depending on the course you take, you have the option to pay for, or you can still take the class without that. With a quick Google search, I’ve noticed some sites list which courses are still completely free (and there are a lot of them!). So if you’re looking for an online course, be sure to check out this site and see if there are any courses you’d like to take.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy offers free video courses on a variety of subjects. This website is especially great for high school and college students who are looking for additional resources to do well in their classes. Just by glancing through the topics, there are quite a few designed for AP courses, making this a great student resource.
I used to do the math courses frequently in college if I needed to be reminded of an algebraic concept or something that I needed to grasp as a prerequisite to what I was working on. If you’re looking for that extra help, this site will accomplish just that. Take a look at the subjects they offer and see what you can learn!
OpenLearn
OpenLearn has a page on their website offering free courses in a variety of subjects. When choosing, you can see the difficulty of the course and how many hours it will take.
This is a quick and easy route to finding free courses. Expand on a skill, or try something new! OpenLearn’s courses also don’t have a start date to wait for, so you can work at your own pace. You can also narrow your search by subject or skill, and you can choose other resources, like e-books, to learn from.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is an excellent place to find free online e-books. Browse the catalog and see what you like! This is a great site to browse the classics and add them to your collection for free. If you’re looking to read more, you may want to take a look at sites like these.
Curiosity
Curiosity is a fun site where you can browse and learn something new every day. Read articles, or listen to the 10-minute podcasts they offer. They’ve even got a Personal Development section – and if you’re a frequent reader of this blog, chances are you’ll like this site too!
Investopedia
If your education was like mine, you probably didn’t hear too much about how to invest or plan for retirement, although it’s very important! I honestly used to use Investopedia in high school for my social studies homework, but now it answers my beginner financial questions. I feel that many websites skip over the basics when I’m looking for answers, so this site is a great site. You can find all this information in their guides section of the site.
MIT Open Courseware
This site features several courses that are offered at MIT. You’ll get all the lecture notes and exams, so if you’re looking to learn a course independently, this is an excellent resource. Take a look at other universities like MIT as they will often have similar websites offering lecture materials for their courses.
TED
I’m sure you’ve heard of TED Talks by now, but in case you haven’t, they’re short videos of speakers discussing a topic for educational or motivational purposes. But there’s much more than just that! You can also check out the TED Talks Daily podcast and incorporate it into your routine for a daily dose of information. There’s also TED-ed, which hosts a collective of videos for all subjects and age ranges.
I like TED Talks because they can be incorporated into your routine easily. Watch one in the morning, or listen to the podcast on your commute. Despite their brevity, they have the ability to leave a big impact.
There’s so much in the world to be constantly learning about! Luckily, we have so many resources at our fingertips to make that process much easier. Are there any resources that you like to use that I missed? What are you learning now? Let me know below.
Sincerely,
Julie Anna
