I first heard the phrase “the learner is the earner” from Marie Forleo early in her writing career. I have always believed it to be true. To this day, I continue to take courses, get certifications, read books and blogs, and listen to podcasts.
But let’s face it – all the educational resources out there can cost a lot. That’s why I went looking for the best free options to get an education.
That’s what I am going to share with you in this post.But before that, you might be wondering, what’s the big deal? you Curious about resources to level up your education for free?
How is it beneficial to advance your education
There are several reasons why you should pursue lifelong learning. These include, but are not limited to:
- Overall health: according to Psychreg.orgmental health benefits when learning new things
- You can do your current job better: Reported by Indeed.com Continuous learning “helps employees expand their skill sets to adapt to an ever-changing environment.”
- Alternatively, you can advance your career by: constant contact Learning has been found to help them climb the corporate ladder, find new job opportunities and qualify
- Boost your confidence: cornerstone college As you learn and gain knowledge, your confidence will skyrocket and you will be more likely to pursue what you want in life.
- Cognitive improvement: according to cognition today“Learning a skill stimulates the brain and increases what psychologists call ‘cognitive reserve. This helps prevent age-related damage or “biological deterioration.”
At the very least, you might learn something new to share at your cocktail party or networking event.
Now that you know why learning is beneficial, let’s get down to learning purpose. A free resource to take your education to the next level.
To keep this list from being a disorganized mass of chaos, I’ve broken it down into categories.
- general education
- reading and writing
- mathematics and science
- history and social studies
- business and entrepreneurship
- electronics and technology
- creative pursuit
please note: Some of these resources may fit in multiple categories, but we’ve done our best to include them where we deem most appropriate.
general education
If you’re looking to step up your education for free, this is a great place to start. Each resource on this list offers courses, books, lessons, etc. on different subjects.
- khan academy – This non-profit organization offers pre-school to college-level courses in mathematics, reading, languages, sciences, arts and humanities, and economics subjects. There are also courses in life skills, computing and test preparation.
- Udemy – This online course platform has free courses in categories like Development, Business, Finance & Accounting, IT, Design, Marketing, Photography, Video, Music and more.
- Edx.org – The website features over 3,000 courses and lessons in a variety of subjects from over 160 universities that partner with the platform to make learning accessible to all. University partners include Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Dartmouth and Cambridge University.
- coursera – We don’t have as many free courses as Edx.org, but we have thousands of free courses from various university partners. Subjects include arts and humanities, business, computer science, math and logic, personal development, and more will be
- open university – Like many learning platforms on this list, The Open University’s mission is to provide free learning resources to “break down barriers to education.” Subjects include money and business, society, politics, law, language, history, and art.
- allison.com – Everything you want to learn, from art to zoology, as described on the course page. As of this writing, more than 3600 of his courses on the website are free to register for.
- PBS learning media – Watch curated videos for social studies, science, engineering and technology, world languages, arts, health and fitness, math, languages, and professional development topics. You can also browse by grade level on this site.
- Podcasts – In speaking with a number of people researching this article, quite a few mentioned podcasts. It makes a lot of sense, I think, considering when I was building my business I was obsessed with Amy Porterfield, Pat Flynn, John Lee Dumas, and the like. I search for a specific topic and if it’s in podcast format, regardless of the host, I often download it to my phone and listen to it during my walks. If so, podcasts are certainly a good option!
- Youtube – I know, I know, but hear me out. I learned how to use YouTube to fix my blog when it breaks. I also used it to learn how to fix headlights and taillights, cook my new favorite dinner, plan meals, increase my writing activity, save money at the grocery store, and more. .
The trick is to look for something very specific. Once you have a list of YouTube channels you like, add them to your bookmarks folder.
Of course you can subscribe to as many channels as you want, but I recommend breaking them down into categories, like this list!
With that in mind, here are some fun resources with lists of channels to check out by category.
reading and writing
- Openlibrary.org – Get a virtual “library card” and instant access to millions of books with just your email address. Borrow like a traditional library and organize it into a reading log.Supported by non-profit organizations internet archivesays the Open Library is “an open, editable library catalog, built for the web pages of every book ever published.”
- Project Gutenberg – This website has a library of over 70,000 e-books that you can read for free. Unlike many resources on this list, you don’t have to register to read the ebook on the website. Also, you don’t need to download an app.
- Odyssey Writing Workshop – This site charges for webinars and online workshops.But you can find lots of great free stuff Tips to write hereand Click here for publishing tipsI especially like how the writing tips are divided into sections, such as punctuation and plot outlines.
- Creative Lighting Now – There are currently 6 free writing courses that you can sign up for free here.
- endless story ideas
- suspense technique
- beginning, middle, end
- Introduction to character development
- An Introduction to Mystery Writing, and
- description description overview
- reed learning – The site has courses on everything from creative writing to business book writing and even how to procrastinate on books.
mathematics and science
- educate yourself – From algebra to statistics, geometry to calculus, and many other math classes I struggled with in between, School Yourself offers a lot of free tutorials to help you learn different subjects in math.
- math games for adults – Why isn’t learning fun?
- math toy – This site offers worksheets, games, puzzles, and more. Make sure you have a working ad blocker as the site appears to be fully funded by tons of ads. However, the resources here are worth a look.
- science journal for kids – OK, maybe this is a website for kids, but even if you’re an adult like me who isn’t very good at chemistry or biology, it’s really cool to learn again without pressure! Personally, I liked the idea of all the experiments and hands-on lessons you can do at home.
- Fun science experiments for adults – Be the first to admit that a lot of these are really silly, but you know what? They’re fun too. Get your science education here.
history and social studies
- Free History Courses Online Via Coursesity – This is the most complete list of free history courses I have found online. They analyze where you can take classes for free, subjects, duration, and even provide reviews of the courses in their list.
- Cspan American History Television – I turned 1 today when I found out that C-Span’s website has a lot of educational resources. For example, the history series of lectures features “lectures on topics from the American Revolution to 9-11.”
- Free World History Course – If you’re looking for non-US history lessons, Learn Out Loud has a great list of free courses on world history.
- Icivic – This website makes learning a little more fun with games aimed at learning about government agencies, taxes, citizenship and more.
business and entrepreneurship
- Hubspot Academy – I have taken many courses on Hubspot. I love how they break things down and give a certificate of completion. Course subjects include marketing, sales, service, web design, and data privacy.
- Small and Medium Enterprise Agency – From how to start a business to how to raise capital, SBA has many online learning resources for those interested in entrepreneurship.
- 5 minute class for small businesses – Pressed for time but still want to learn? This resource is just for you.There is also business class money and marketing This is also designed to fit within 5 minutes.
electronics and technology
- code academy – Free courses include learning Javascript, HTML, SQL, C++ and more. The free plan lets you start learning in minutes. If you need additional support and a certificate of completion, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
- Grow with Google and Google Digital Workshop – Built by the gods of Google, these platforms feature courses in digital marketing, career development, IT support, and data.
- Free Code Camp – Over 9,000 free tutorials that teach students how to learn to code, build projects, and earn certifications. The website boasts that many of the alumni have been employed at his Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Spotify. A woman I spoke with used this website to learn to code and is now her architect of solutions for her services at Amazon.
creative pursuit
We all need hobbies, right? That’s where these ideas come into play. These educational resources are self-explanatory.
- music:
- Craft:
- cooking:
- art:
- Nutrition and fitness:
If your hobby of choice doesn’t appear here and there’s something you’d like to learn, just head over to your favorite search engine and type in ‘free’. [your hobby] class, free [your hobby] lessons” or “free [your hobby] means. ” You will be amazed at all the options available.
If that sounds too overwhelming, you can always go to YouTube and search for it.[your hobby] Open Tutorials and start watching people do exactly what you want to learn.
Conclusion and next steps
Most of all, I hope this post has inspired you to start looking for more ways to level up your education for free. Instead, I challenge myself to learn something new this week and never stop learning from it.
This list was not exhaustive. I didn’t mention free resources such as free in-person fitness, cooking, computer classes, and many other community-provided resources. Start looking for what is available in your area. You never really know what you’ll find, whether it’s a new hobby, a new career potential, or a new interest that will inspire you for the rest of your life.
Image credit: Nadine Wiese