Get ready to expand your knowledge without breaking the bank! Did you know that you can access FREE courses and learning materials on numerous websites on the internet? And guess what, it doesn’t matter if you’re homeless or a Harvard graduate you can still take advantage of these resources with just a computer! If you don’t have your own computer, no worries! Your local library likely offers public computer access. So, why waste time and money on transportation and traditional education when you have the option to learn at your own pace and on your own schedule, all from the comfort of your computer screen?
Languages
Free online language learning: courses, audio, video, and interactive games, including the alphabet, phrases, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, activities, books, tests, and more!
Duolingo: This popular language-learning platform offers free courses in over 40 different languages. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and engaging, with a gamified approach that makes language learning fun and rewarding. Duolingo’s courses cover a range of language skills, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The platform uses a variety of interactive activities, such as fill-in-the-blank exercises, listening exercises, and speaking exercises, to help users practice and reinforce their language skills. Duolingo also incorporates machine learning algorithms that adapt to each user’s learning style and progress, providing personalized feedback and guidance. Additionally, the platform includes a feature that allows users to practice their language skills with other learners through interactive chat exercises. With its fun and engaging approach to language learning, as well as its user-friendly interface and personalized feedback, Duolingo is a popular and effective tool for language learners of all levels.
BBC Languages: This is a language-learning website offered by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The platform provides free resources for language learners, including audio and video courses, interactive games and quizzes, and written materials. The website covers a variety of languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese, among others.
From beginners to advanced learners, the platform provides courses for everyone. The interactive games and quizzes offer practice in vocabulary, grammar, and other language skills, while the audio and video courses help learners improve their listening and speaking abilities. Grammar guides and phrasebooks are among the written resources accessible for download on the website.
BBC Languages also includes cultural resources that provide learners with insights into the history, traditions, and daily life of the countries where the languages are spoken. With its extensive range of resources and engaging content, BBC Languages is a valuable tool for language learners who want to improve their language skills and deepen their understanding of other cultures.
Memrise: This online language-learning platform offers courses in a variety of languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and many more. The platform utilizes a unique learning approach that combines interactive video content with mnemonic devices and spaced repetition techniques to help users learn and retain new vocabulary words and phrases.
Memrise.com’s courses are designed to be engaging and fun, with a focus on real-world vocabulary and phrases that learners can use in everyday conversations. The platform offers a variety of courses that cater to different learning levels, from beginner to advanced.
In addition to language courses, Memrise offers courses in other subjects, including science, history, and culture. The platform also includes social features that allow users to connect with other learners and native speakers, providing opportunities for language exchange and practice.
Memrise is an effective and enjoyable tool for language learners who want to improve their vocabulary skills and build confidence in their language abilities.
MIT Languages: This is an online learning platform offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The platform provides free access to a wide range of classes and resources, including lecture notes, assignments, exams, and videos of lectures. The classes cover a variety of subjects, including engineering, computer science, mathematics, economics, and many others.
MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is designed to provide users with access to high-quality educational materials from one of the world’s top universities. The platform’s classes are taught by MIT faculty and cover a wide range of topics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The classes are self-paced, allowing users to study at their own pace and on their own schedule.
In addition to the course materials, MIT OCW also includes supplementary resources such as study guides, lecture transcripts, and interactive simulations. The platform’s classes are available to anyone with an internet connection, regardless of their location or background.
MIT OCW is a valuable resource for lifelong learners, students, educators, and anyone who seeks to expand their knowledge in a variety of subjects. With its comprehensive range of classes and resources, as well as its commitment to providing high-quality education to the world, MIT OCW is a pioneering platform in the open education movement.
Games for Language: Users may learn a new language using this online language-learning platform, which offers games. Courses in a variety of languages, including French, German, Spanish, and Italian, are available on the platform. With a concentration on developing vocabulary and expanding listening and reading comprehension skills, Gamesforlanguage.com’s courses are designed to be enjoyable and interesting. Users may practice and improve their language abilities by playing games like word searches, matching games, and interactive quizzes on the site. The games incorporate real-world scenarios, allowing users to learn a language in context and develop practical language skills.
The platform’s courses are organized into levels, with each level building on the skills learned in the previous level. The platform also offers grammar explanations and cultural notes to help users better understand the language they are learning.
“Games for Language” is a fun and effective tool for language learners who want to improve their language skills while having fun playing games. With its engaging and interactive approach to language learning, the platform provides a unique and enjoyable learning experience for users of all levels.
Learn A Language: Imagine being able to travel to a foreign country and communicate with locals fluently. Or being able to watch a foreign film without the need for subtitles. With LearnALanguage.com, you can make this a reality!
This incredible online language-learning platform offers courses in multiple languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and many others. From vocabulary lists to grammar explanations, and interactive exercises, “Learn A Language” has it all.
The courses are designed to be self-paced, meaning you can learn at your own pace and on your own schedule. And that’s not all, LearnALanguage.com also offers language learning games, pronunciation guides, and cultural resources to help you deepen your understanding of the language you are studying.
With courses organized into levels, each level building on the skills learned in the previous level, you’ll be speaking a new language in no time. The courses cover a range of language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Don’t let language barriers hold you back. Join LearnALanguage.com today and take the first step towards becoming a multilingual superstar!
Busuu: This is a language learning website that provides users with online courses in several languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and many more. The platform’s courses are tailored to be engaging and interactive, emphasizing practical language skills that learners can apply in real-world settings.
The courses on Busuu are based on the widely recognized Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) standard for language proficiency. The platform’s courses are organized into levels that correspond to the CEFR, enabling learners to keep track of their progress and assess their language proficiency level.
The platform’s courses are designed to offer a range of features and resources, including interactive lessons, grammar explanations, vocabulary lists, and exercises. Busuu.com also provides language exchange options that allow learners to practice their language skills with native speakers of the language they are studying.
Busuu is an efficient and comprehensive language learning platform that offers learners of all levels the tools and resources they need to master a new language. The platform’s interactive approach to language learning makes it enjoyable and engaging, while its focus on practical skills ensures that learners can use their newfound language skills in real-life situations.
Japanese Online: This website offers resources for learners of the Japanese language. The site provides a variety of tools and materials to aid in learning Japanese including grammar lessons, vocabulary lists, and interactive exercises. There is also a section dedicated to Japanese culture and news, providing learners with a deeper understanding of Japanese society and traditions. Japanese Online offers online tutoring services to help learners with their language skills in real-time, and a forum where learners can connect with one another and practice their Japanese skills. This platform aims to provide a comprehensive language learning experience for those interested in learning the Japanese language and gaining a deeper understanding of Japanese culture.
ABA English: This free English language course is designed for learners of all levels. It includes six official levels and certification upon completion. It features a unique immersion method based on ABA Films, which uses real-life situations to teach English. In addition to video classes, the course provides speaking, writing, and vocabulary exercises to help learners improve their language skills. The course is accessible through the campus web version or a mobile app, with users able to set language learning goals and track their progress. ABA English also offers online tutoring services to help learners practice their English skills in real-time with certified teachers.
iTunes – English as a Second Language
Higher Education
Many reputable higher education institutions offer free online educational courses for anyone who wants to learn.
MIT OpenCourseware: This institute offers materials used in the teaching of almost all of MIT’s subjects available on the Web, free of charge. With more than 2,200 courses available
UC Irvine OpenCourseWare: This college offers a great selection of resources.
Open Yale Courses: This university offers education in classics, philosophy, religion, and more!
Academic Earth: Recognizing the existing barriers in academia, they continue their efforts to curate an unparalleled collection of free online courses from the world’s top universities. Whether you want to explore a new topic or advance in your current field, they bring the amazing world of academia to you for free.
Memrise: There are thousands of courses on Memrise – all free and all created by other members of the community. Courses are available in many languages, for many languages and other subjects. If they don’t have what you want, join in and make your own course. Earn points whilst you learn, and compete against friends. Thanks to their spaced repetition scheme you’ll practice words you’ve learned before again in the future – earn more points for remembering them for longer lengths of time.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Those interested in learning more about the healthcare field will be well served by the free course materials offered by Johns Hopkins.
Open University: This university offers courses that are both academic and practical in nature.
Middle East Technical University: This university offers a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners throughout the world.
Carnegie Mellon University: This university offers online courses to anyone who wants to learn or teach. You’ll find courses in French, physics, engineering, science, and more!
Open Tapestry: This website is all about discovering, adapting, and sharing learning resources, whether you’re a teacher, an instructor, a professor, a corporate trainer, a learner, or just a curious mind!
Open Educational Resources – Commons: Worldwide learning network of shared teaching and learning materials made freely available online. All materials are grouped by subject area and grade level.
Tufts University Open Courseware: This university offers classes in the areas of medicine, nutrition, and the arts and sciences.
Hippo Campus: Explore over 5,700 videos in 13 subject areas from middle school through college.
UC Berkeley Webcast: This university offers video & audio instruction for students and around the globe.
University of Reddit: Art, Computer Science, Fun and Games, General Studies, Language, Mathematics and Statistics, Music, Philosophy, Science, Social Sciences, Technology
Learn Out Loud: a href=”http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Courses/Arts-and-Entertainment”>Arts & Entertainment, Biography, Business, Education & Professional, History, Languages, Literature, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Self Development, Social Sciences, Sports & Hobbies, Technology, Travel
Open Culture Universities: Get 1,100 free online courses from the world’s leading universities — Stanford, Yale, MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Oxford, and more! You can download these audio & video courses (often from iTunes, YouTube, or university websites) straight to your computer or mp3 player. Over 30,000 hours of free audio & video lectures, await you now.
Music
When considering music education, most people don’t immediately think of studying online. Music is something that lends itself to being learned and experienced in person, but the fact is that excellent online music education is available, as well.
Berklee Shares: This site grants access to many different music education courses.
Open University – Courses: These courses will suit anyone who has a passion for music and is looking for an intellectual challenge.
UC Irvine OpenCourseware: These courses will suit anyone who has a passion for music and is looking for an intellectual challenge.
Open Educational Resources – Commons: Lesson plans, labs, video lectures, activities, readings, images, illustrations, and more!
ArtsEdge: Find images, audio stories, music, video clips, and interactives.
Open Education Database: Learners of all levels can explore their interests and prepare for exciting new careers, build on existing foundations of education and experience, or just satisfy a craving to learn something completely new.
University of Reddit: This site offers college-level music classes.
Slide Rule: These educational music courses were designed for Novices and Professionals alike.
Courses: Learn about music production, take your guitar skills to the next level, and/or watch some masterful lectures on music.
Exploratorium: Explore the science of music through these online exhibits, movies, and questions. Along the way, you can compose, mix, dance, drum, experiment, and above all…listen.
BBC – Learn to Sing: Body Basics, Breathing Better, Warming Up, Find Your Voice,
Loud & Clear, Practice Makes Perfect, Top Tips, Video Tutorials
Annenberg Learner: K-12 teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum. All programs stream free.
Online Music Theory Tutor: The curriculum is based on the most current research on how students learn.
Open University – Education Links: Students hoping to learn about music will enjoy gaining information on the history, cultural effects, genres, and notable contributions to music.
BBC Music: Study music online with BBC’s resources and courses.
Free Online Education – Music: Resources and links to music lessons, sheet music, and more!
San Francisco Symphony – Keeping Score: Extensive audio, video, and critically acclaimed interactive material explores each composer’s scores and pertinent musical techniques as well as the personal and historical stories behind them in a user-friendly way. The interactive learning tools offer a unique and in-depth online learning experience.
Conservation
These educational courses provide unique opportunities to examine the life sciences of zoology, ecology, and conservation, through topics including predators, marine biology, habitat ecology, climate connections, and more!
ConservationTraining: This is an open and free learning community that offers conservation-based training materials from The Nature Conservancy and their partner organizations.
Economics of Land Degradation: The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) is an initiative for a global study on the economic benefits of land and land-based ecosystems. The initiative highlights the value of sustainable land management and provides a global approach for analysis of the economics of land degradation.
Energy Kids: The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s website features more than 100 pages of fun educational content for kids, parents, and teachers. Kids can learn about energy and challenge their brains with energy Sudoku, crossword puzzles, word searches, and the new “Energy Sliders” game. The site also features energy-related stories, hands-on activities, and research articles for the classroom.
Adult Education
Access free educational online courses on every topic from typing to business management. You can even find personal growth courses on time management, parenting, and more!
FreeEdNet: A lot of people don’t know how to learn. They might know how to take courses and pass exams, but they don’t know how to learn. Think of Free-Ed.Net as a boot camp that forces you to learn how to learn.
Adult Learning Web Resources: This site was set up to discover education websites for adult learners with a range of abilities.
GCF Learn Free: From Microsoft Office and email to reading, math, and more, this website offers 125 tutorials, including more than 1,100 lessons, videos, and interactive games. All of the classes are completely free and will earn you accredited Continuing Education Units and a Certificate of Completion!
Kindergarten through the 12th Grade
The following links provide open-access educational video lectures, games, books, and more!
cK-12: This website offers math and science digital textbooks, quizzes, videos, physics interactive simulations, and more!
San Francisco Symphony Kids: Discover, Listen, Play, Perform, Conduct, Compose
Children’s Library: The ICDL Foundation promotes tolerance and respect for diverse cultures by providing access to the best of children’s literature from around the world.
ePub Bud: Free Children’s eBooks for the iPad, nook, and other readers; and even some books for adults too! Browse All eBooks, Create an eBook, Convert an eBook, Sell Your eBook
eSkeletons: This educational website provides an interactive environment in which to examine and learn about skeletal anatomy through its osteology database.
eFossils: This is a collaborative website in which users can explore important fossil localities and browse the fossil digital library.
eLucy: This is a website that will help you to learn about the world’s most famous fossil, Lucy, a member of the species Australopithecus afarensis, who lived 3.2 million years ago. Lucy was discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia, and she is unique because over 40% of her skeleton was recovered, making her one of the most complete australopithecine fossils ever found.
Forensic Views of the Body: Visible Proofs is about the history of forensic medicine. Over the centuries, physicians, surgeons, and other professionals have struggled to develop scientific methods that translate views of bodies and body parts into “visible proofs” that can persuade judges, juries, and the public.
Exhibition Program – History of Medicine: The exhibitions and educational resources about the social and cultural history of medicine, encourage visitors of all ages to learn more about themselves and their communities. The goal is to stimulate people’s enthusiasm for history and to nurture young professionals in history, education, museum studies, and the health professions.
Exploratorium – Explore, Play, Discover: Websites, Activities & More
The Danger Zone: This is a fun game. Some teenagers have become very sick with a foodborne illness and you’ve been asked to solve the outbreak! What pathogen did they contract? Which food was the culprit? And where did these teens go wrong when they made food for their dinner party? Collect and test samples, make notes, and test your knowledge.
Evoke – Crash Course in Changing the World: The goal of the social network game is to help empower people all over the world to come up with creative solutions to our most urgent social problems.
NASA Quest: Here kids will discover web-based, interactive explorations designed to engage them in authentic scientific and engineering processes. The solutions relate to issues encountered daily by NASA personnel.
WatchKnowLearn – Free Educational Videos: This website has indexed approximately 50,000 educational videos, placing them into a directory of over 5,000 categories. The videos are available without any registration or fees to everyone in the world 24/7. Users can dive into their innovative directory or search for videos by subject and age level. Video titles, descriptions, age-level information, and ratings are all edited for usefulness.
Canon Creative Park: This website contains hundreds of gorgeous, high-quality papercraft downloads – from stationery to gift cards, paper models, calendars, scrapbooking, greetings cards, 3D decoupage patterns, chiyogami, and origami.
Fact Monster: This is a free reference site for students, teachers, and parents. Get homework help and find facts on thousands of subjects, including sports, entertainment, geography, history, biography, education, and health.
eAnthro Labs: This is a collaborative website in which participants can upload their own data to explore a hypothesis.
Keyboard Typing
The following educational websites include structured touch typing courses for motivated individuals looking to develop their keyboard skills. No downloads are required.
GCF Learn Free – Typing: Because the process of learning to type can be discouraging, there is a coaching model that includes supportive feedback—and because everyone learns differently, they built in the option to tone it down or turn it off.
Rapid Typing: Typing Tutor, Typing Games, Typing Freeware, Typing Technique, Typing Test – This program supports many different languages and keyboard types.
Keybr: Unlike much of the teaching typing software available out there, Keybr.com does not force you to type random characters over and over again; that is simply boring and contributes very little to your learning. Instead, Keybr.com generates readable random words using the phonetic rules of your native language.
RataType: Learn to type faster with a Ratatype typing tutor. Next, take an online typing test to find out your typing speed and impress friends or employers with your personal typing certificate.
Typing Arena: Test your typing skills and speed with the online typing test tool. Register and save your results, view graphs, compete with others, and get a typing certificate. This website supports all major international keyboard layouts.
Good Typing: Guided lessons to learn step-by-step from the beginning. Learn how to type correctly in just a few hours using all your fingers.
Sense-Lang: Animated keyboard layout and the typing tutor graphic hands are used to correct mistyping by showing the right way to type for your learning and practice experience. Lessons’ difficulty gradually raises as it starts from only 2 characters and ends with the entire keyboard.
Tipp10: TIPP10 is a free 10-finger touch typing tutor. You can use TIPP10 directly in your browser or you can download the software version for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. You can also play a typing game and expand the program with open lessons or make your own to meet your specific needs.
Typing Web: It’s not necessary, but if you register with TypingWeb, they will track your progress. They will also allow you to access additional content and compete for your place in the Hall of Fame.
Free Typing Games: Desert Typing Racer, Keyboard Revolution, Trick or Type, Meteor Typing Blast, Keyboard Triathlon, Spacebar Invaders, Save the Sailboat Race, Outer Space Fleet Commander, The Frogs are Off Their Diet!, Martian City Defender
Writing
Want to be an author? You can complete these creative writing classes from home, working on your own schedule.
Poynter’s News University: This is one of the world’s most innovative online journalism and media training programs ever created. From multimedia techniques to writing and reporting, they’ve got more than 300 free and low-cost courses.
Research and Writing: Before you can start writing, you have to explore the subject to find a topic, locate relevant information, analyze the issues, and organize your arguments. These activities take more time and require different skills than the final step—writing the paper. And many students haven’t had a lot of formal training in how to do research and prepare information for writing a “research paper.” The Step by Step section will guide you through the process from getting the assignment to writing the paper.
Social Media
Looking to boost your social media skills? These free educational online courses will help you get started!
GCF Learn Free – Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest
Business
Free business courses are a great way to learn new skills or prepare for business school.
Coursera – Business: Coursera provides universal access to the world’s best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses for anyone to take, for free. Learn from over 892 courses.
Marginal Revolution University: At MRUniversity.com, you can learn, teach and share economics courses. This is a new approach to online education led by Professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University and www.marginalrevolution.com.
Academic Financial Trading Platform: This open online platform delivers a full curriculum of economics and business courses from faculty at the world’s top universities to students around the globe and empowers individuals to make intelligent investment decisions.
U.S. Small Business Administration: The SBA’s objective is to aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns.
My Own Business: Courses include the top ten characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, top 10 do’s and don’ts, quizzes, course outlines of all sessions in each course, video clips, and other important information. The courses also come with an exam and a certificate at the end, to prove completion. While our courses are free, to help support our mission, a nominal fee is charged for our textbooks.
Bean Counting 101: This accounting course is presented in a multimedia format. You may browse the contents of the lessons, and then click on a bean to start learning.
IRS Small Business Tax Workshop: Starting a Business, Operating a Business, Closing a Business, Employer ID Numbers, Small Business Events, Employment Taxes, Appeal a Tax Dispute
Financial Management Training Center: Courses are downloaded to your computer by clicking on the hyperlinks on the right side of this page. You can take a short course online by clicking on the “online” hyperlink. You can also download a short course in three file formats: pdf | exe file | word. Finally, if you want to take the final exam online, click on the “take exam” hyperlink.
Free Textbooks
Stop spending massive amounts of money and get free college textbooks! You can read these online textbooks on your computer.
Survival
These educational links include everything from survival topics to emergency preparedness information.
FEMA Emergency Management Institute: FEMA offers free online classes that are available to anyone, although only those with U.S. residency or work eligibility can take the final examinations. Other emergency response information for citizens is also available on the website.
Ready – For Kids: Kids can play emergency preparedness games and test their knowledge on making plans, building kits, knowing the facts, and getting involved when a disaster strikes. Disaster types include hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, home fires, blackouts, and biological threats.
Educational Podcasts
Check out these educational podcasts to learn more about loads of important ideas and cutting-edge concepts.
Stanford on iTunes: With great faculty lectures, interviews, sports commentary, and free concerts, this podcast is a great way to keep up on culture.
Cambridge University Podcasts: With podcasts of lectures from faculty and prestigious scholars as well as updates about the museums and departments within the school, these can be an asset to those looking for educational material.
Classics Podcasts: Haverford College hosts this podcast where ancient texts and up-to-the-minute news are read in Latin.
Boston College Front Row: Get audio and video recordings of lectures and seminars from Boston college through this podcast.
Harvard Business Review: Leading-edge thinkers in business and management express their thoughts in these educational lectures.
Yale University Podcasts: Check out these podcasts for speeches and courses from a variety of departments at Yale.
Northwestern University iTunes: With top-tier schools in business and journalism, visitors to this podcast series can learn more about all kinds of research and development at Northwestern.
Western Kentucky University: These podcasts are often closely related to courses being taught at the University, making it easy to learn about topics that interest you.
Oxford University Podcasts: Adult learners can take advantage of the chance to learn about the faculty and research at this prestigious university through their podcast series.
Berkeley on iTunes: Here you’ll find lectures and resources that cover everything from the arts to politics.
GeorgeTown University Forum: This weekly radio program highlights the work being done by faculty members at the university.