Whether you are looking for a master’s degree program, computer science classes, a K-12 curriculum, or GED study program, this list gives you a look at 50 websites that promise education for free.
From databases that organize over 1,000,000 students throughout 16 universities, to a small library of documents for those interested in history, the opportunities for free online learning continue to expand as the Internet becomes a crucial component in education.
The UMass courseware offers a broad range of classes in areas like psychology, biology, early education, political science, history, mathematics, and others. Each department has a separate page listing the classes available. Along the side, you are given your syllabus, assignments, a professor bio, and recommended reading.
There are no slides, videos, or lecture notes, which makes this open courseware inferior to other universities that offer extensive resources.
2. Khan Academy
This website has a variety of video lessons for free. The course subjects are broken down into particular lessons, which is great for students who are looking to learn one principle without taking an entire course. For example, the biology subject has separate videos for evolution, photosynthesis, genetics, and others.
If you prefer reading to watching, this site may not be for you as the lessons are all video based.
3. MIT Open Courseware
For those looking for courses that will test even the brightest student, MIT is sure not to disappoint. You can download all the course material, which is nearly identical to the course taught at MIT (it even gives you the year and semester it was taught). Since it is an on-demand course, you don’t have any ability to connect with others who are taking it. It is simply an independent study for you to study on your own.
4. Free-Ed
This site is a bit difficult to navigate, as it is not as well designed as other open courseware websites. Similar to most databases, you search through the subjects and categories until you find the class you want to take. One advantage to Free-ed? When you find a class you like, there is the option to click on networking. It will notify you if there are Facebook groups or other online groups you can join that have individuals taking the course you are interested in.
This website offers downloadable coursework in lots of different categories like youth and children, languages, business, engineering, and others. When you look through the coursework, you can view them according to rating. Other users can rate the class, which may help you in deciding what course to take. The main page does warn that there is a new site design coming in the fall of 2012, so there may be changes soon.
This website is well designed with ample content to explain how Carnegie Mellon’s OLI works. Unfortunately, you cannot view the course without creating an account. The tagline right above the courses says, “No instructor, no credits, no charge.” Like so many other free courseware, it is an individual study.
Tufts makes it clear from the start that their courses are not the same as the ones taught in the classroom. It is up to the professor’s discretion what is posted for free and common use. You don’t need a login ID to view the material, and the professors’ lectures are available as slides. Since there is not any more explanation beyond the slides, it may require you to dig deeper in your own research to understand the whole lecture.
8. Stanford on iTunes U
Stanford on iTunes U gives you two options. You can either subscribe to the updated video lectures, or simply download the one you’d like to watch. In order to participate in this course, you do need to have an iTunes account and software.
These courses are easy to access and find with quick browsing. Each class lecture is offered as an MP3 file with an html document that outlines the assignment. This is a bare bones program, as the assignments are simply exams to test your knowledge of the material.
The Kutztown On-Demand program is focused mainly on business. You must fill out a brief survey before you can access the course, but the material is organized nicely, with small video clips for each topic. You can stop and start as you need to since it is broken down into small pieces. Aside from the slides, there aren’t any other materials to test your acquisition of knowledge.
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