Enhance your skills or exercise your brain by trying out one of the free courses on these sites and platforms.
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Whether you want a new skill certification or just want to try learning something new, online courses are a godsend. More and more courses with a full suite of lectures, quizzes, and readings have been made available online—and for free! There’s nothing like learning on-ground with a community, of course, but for a short time of just a few weeks, you can pace your learning yourself and even earn a certificate or degree in any field you fancy.
Sure, you can easily watch a series of videos online to learn about a topic (sometimes even in one-minute TikTok videos), but these websites and platforms offer curated, cohesive learning programs. And even though they’re free, you can be assured that the materials are made professionally and purposefully. But, like with any educational endeavor, exercise your own critical thinking. Learning isn’t just about trying to memorize as much information as you can. It’s also about formulating your own perspective, coming to logical, well-researched and analyzed conclusions, and asking questions of your own.
So if you want to learn how to code or deepen your knowledge about medieval history, these websites and online platforms can help you out—and it won’t cost a thing but time and effort.
COURSERA
With a massive library of classes, courses, projects, and degrees, Coursera has long been a mainstay in the online learning game. There are thousands of online courses and programs where you can earn a certificate or even a degree. You can build your resume by taking on a technical skill-building course or broaden your horizons as you satiate your thirst for knowledge with a philosophy or humanities course.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
One of the most prestigious universities in the world does try to make their well of knowledge accessible to learners across the globe. Harvard University has got courses on data science, politics, biology, managing mental health, community and social work, literature, music, and so much more available on their website. Each course is hosted on different platforms like edX or on the Harvard site itself, but this catalogue makes it easy for you to brows and choose. You can audit these classes free-of-charge, but if you want a verified certificate, you have to pay a fee. But if you’re someone who doesn’t mind not having a document and simply wants to learn a new thing or two from Harvard school educators and resources, audit away.
UP OPEN UNIVERSITY
The University of the Philippines Open University is offering 24 free massive open online courses this 2024. From Gender Sensitivity Training this February to Principles of Graphic Design in April to Implementing and Evaluation Programs for Child Rights at the end of the year, the UP Open University courses can help you build your skills. As a bonus, given that these are taught by a UP institution, what you learn will also be that much more relevant in a localized context. Read the guidelines here and register here.
ACADEMIC EARTH
Academic Earth offers less tailored modules and more curations of courses or lectures that can help round out your education for your degree or career. The site can help you find your field of interest, show courses you could take, and direct you to websites and categorized lectures from accredited institutions.
KHAN ACADEMY
Khan Academy is a familiar name for those of us who has ever been desperate for some outside help with schoolwork. Not quite a platform dedicated to supplying learners with degrees and certificates, Khan Academy asserts that they exist to supplement “normal schooling.” Through the free classes and courses they offer for all ages of learners, you can learn more broadly about topics and subjects that either you need help in or are simply more curious about.
ALISON
Alison offers a wide array of classes and courses in the fields of health, information technology, business, personal development, education, and more. Their courses range from a two to twenty hours, and they’ve got all kinds of niche subjects and training, like Feminist Writings and Food Allergen Awareness.
edX
Like many of these sites, education learning platform edX brings together classes and courses from different high-performance institutions and universities from all over the world. And they’re all packaged up into programs you can learn at your own pace, ready for you to start your learning journey. With over 4,000 courses, learn from schools like MIT and Columbia University, and institutions like Google and IBM. Take astrophysics courses like The Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe or prepare for International English Language Testing System test—whatever you want to learn, edX has your back.
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13 Websites That Will Help You With Your Thesis
