25 Killer Sites For Free Online Education

Whether you’re five or ninety five, the internet has a lot to offer. Particularly when the topic is education, the resources on the internet are endless. Best of all, many high quality sites are completely free. From history to coding, excellent free education awaits on the following 25 sites.

1. Coursera

Coursera.org is a website that partners with universities and organizations around the world. This brings a wide variety of topics and perspectives to one searchable database. Coursera is a powerful tool for free online education, and includes courses from many top universities, museums and trusts. This gives the site an extremely wide range of in-depth courses. Coursera is extremely useful if you’re looking to study many different topics, or want courses from different schools and groups.

2. Khan Academy

Partnering with many post secondary schools, Khan Academy offers a useable, well organized interface. Also curating many courses from around the web, Khan Academy offers impressive depth on many different subjects. Among the more well known educational sites, Khan Academy is also incredibly useable, which may make it easier to keep learning goals.

3. Open Culture Online Courses

If you are struggling to find exactly the material you are looking for, try Open Culture’s listing of free online education courses. The page highlights 1000 lectures, videos and podcasts from universities around the world. The site features a lot of material found only on universities private sites, all in easy to browse categories. This means you can find hundreds of university courses, without having to visit and search each university’s own site. Open Culture’s list features courses from England, Australia, Wales and many state universities around the United States. A very helpful resource for finding many courses in one area of study.

4. Udemy 

Udemy’s free courses are similar in concept to Coursera’s but additionally allows users to build custom courses from lessons. Working with many top professors and schools, the site mixes the customizable platform of other sites with a heavy emphasis on top quality content. This is another site however, that mixes free and paid content.

5. Academic Earth

Another site with courses from many different schools is Academic Earth. Much like the three sites above, Academic Earth brings together top notch courses from many different sources, and focuses on offering a wide variety of subjects. Academic Earth lists courses by subject and school, so it might be easier to find what you’re looking for.

6. edX

Another great option for free online education is edX. Also bringing together courses from many different schools, the site has impressive, quality information for everyone. edX covers a great range of topics.

7. Alison

Unlike the previous sites on this lists, Alison is a free education site offering certification in some areas. Alison offers courses mainly in business, technology, and health, but also includes language learning courses. A great option if users need certification for their learning, Alison also offers school curriculum courses.

8. iTunesU Free Courses

A very convenient place for free online education is iTunesU, because it integrates seamlessly with your iPod, or any app-ready Apple mobile device. On iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, users download the iTunesU app. Desktop users can access  iTunesU on the upper right hand corner of the iTunes Store. iTunesU is also convenient because the store is categorized much like iTunes. Users can search learning materials in many different ways, including genre and topic. However, courses are often a mix of free podcasts or videos, and paid content. ITunesU does include courses on a pretty wide scope of topics, but does not integrate with Android, Google or Windows mobile devices.

9. Stanford Online

Your hub for all the online offerings from Stanford University, Stanford Online offers self-paced and session based courses. While Coursera features some courses from Stanford, many classes are only available via other hosts. Some courses require iTunes, but most are completed in your web browser. Stanford Online is a great site for high quality courses, though the topics are somewhat limited compared to sites partnered with more than one school.

10. Harvard Extension

Like Stanford Online, Harvard Extension features free online education courses from Harvard only. This is another excellent source for top notch course material, though the course variety is less rich than multi-school sites. Additionally, Harvard Extension allows you to search for courses by professional certificate. This makes it much easier if your online education goal includes certification.

11. Open Yale Courses

Open Yale Courses echoes Harvard Extension and Stanford Online, in that it offers only courses from Yale. While the site is similarly limited to topics taught at the school, Open Yale Courses offers a lot of videos of actual campus lectures. The availability of videos makes the site a great option if you’re looking for quality courses, but learn better by watching than by reading.

12. UC Berkeley Class Central

Much like the other schools on this list, UC Berkeley has a variety of free online education options. The school has slightly fewer courses than the schools above, but includes some supplementary lectures, webcasts and RSS Feeds, making it easy to keep up with the topics you choose.

13. MIT OpenCourseWare

Similarly, MIT offers a variety of free courses. The school has a comparable number of courses to the schools above, plus includes very in-depth course materials on the subjects available. MIT also offers free RSS feeds, a convenient way to continue learning.

14. Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative

Carnegie Mellon’s free online education site is comparable with the other school’s on this list, however, Open Learning Initiative also covers a smaller range of topics. But for the topics that are covered impressive, in-depth material is available.

15. Codecademy

Codecademy is a website dedicated specifically to teaching coding. Where other coding sites follow an example/practice session workflow, Codecademy includes a live practice window. This means you can practice coding while still viewing the lesson material. The courses at Codecademy are well written and easy to follow and the website is organized very nicely. Codecademy features a centralized dashboard where you can monitor your progress, plus organizes lessons into complete modules. This lets you learn an entire language without needing to pick the next course manually.

16. Code

Code is another website focused on coding and app writing. A site with high quality courses, Code also features learning options for kids. In addition to kid friendly courses, Code offers free online education classes on a wide variety of technology topics. These classes include app writing, robotics and Javascript. Most of the courses are also geared in a such a way that they can be useful in a classroom setting. This makes Code a great resource for harder to find coding topics, as well as various learning settings.

17. University of London Podcasts

The podcast page on the University of London website is another great source for free education. While the courses are limited to podcasts, the site features podcasts from it’s own campus, as well as eleven universities in and around London. This gives learners a wide base of topics and lectures, but still ensures in-depth material.

18. University of Oxford Podcasts

Similar to the University of London, the University of Oxford features many different podcasts. Most are public lecture series or lectures from visiting professors, with several different recordings available. The advantage to this particular site is that podcasts are organized into series, making it easy to subscribe to multiple lectures on one topic. Another good site for thoroughly in-depth lectures.

19. BBC Podcasts

For the more casual learner, the BBC offers a wide variety of podcasts on many different topics. Most podcasts are updated weekly, and focus on everything from finance, to sports, to current events. Through the World Service line of podcasts, there are also many in different languages. The focus of these podcasts are less in-depth and theory based, which may be more accessible to the average person.

20. TED-Ed

Another great destination for more general learning is TED-Ed. From the same people that brought you the all encompassing, motivational web series, comes a site chocked full of educational videos. Most include impressive animation, and all are ten minutes long or less. Not only is TED-Ed an excellent site for the curious, it also includes supplemental materials and quizzes on the videos. This makes the site extremely useful in formal education settings, as well as in entertaining ways to brush up on new discoveries and topics.

21. LessonPaths

LessonPaths is another great tool for those looking for a more usable and convenient way to access learning material. On this site, users create link playlists of their favorite learning materials from other sites. Users then rank these collections, making it easy to find many different high quality, accessible sources on a given topic.

22. Memrise

Another impressive free online education site offering ease of use and convenience is Memrise. Available both on desktop and as an app, Memrise is a particularly powerful tool if you are studying a language. The site encompasses many other topics as well, though some of the course material is user generated content. Part of what makes Memrise speacial is their integration of games into the learning materials, mixing learning with entertainment.

23. National Geographic Kids

The kids site for National Geographic is another site that makes free online education applicable for younger users. For those looking for kid friendly education, a large variety of games, puzzles, videos and photos keeps kids interested on this site. National Geographic Kids doesn’t organize learning into courses, making materials available by topic and medium instead. This makes National Geographic Kids a good option for those looking for a more casual learning environment.

24. Fun Brain

Fun Brain is another good option for kids who want to learn online, but focuses on games and fun puzzles. Particularly focused on math and reading, Fun Brain’s game based approach can be valuable if the child in question struggles to pay attention. Fun Brain offers rewards and challenges as well, and is another site aimed at a casual learning experience for kids K-8.

25. Whyville

Similar to the sites for kids free online education is Whyville a destination for preteen online learning. The site includes a variety of social features, with a focus on learning materials geared for young teens. Whyville also mixes in educational games, to make the site a well rounded option for kids too old for simple games, but too young for heavy reading based material.

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15 Things Narcissists Don’t Do

Do you know a narcissist? From a psychological perspective, there are several characteristics that define a narcissistic person. They are extremely egotistic, with an exaggerated sense of self-importance, have fantasies of unlimited success and brilliance, expect special treatment, like to exploit others, lack empathy, are filled with envy, expect people to envy them and are extremely arrogant.

While these traits should be easy to spot in a person, you need to remember that narcissists are tricky people. They are manipulative and are easily able to con you into thinking they are different. No one wants to fall for the manipulation of a narcissist. It would be helpful to know who to stay away from, so to help you identify them: here are some things narcissists don’t do.

1. They don’t show their true selves

Narcissists are manipulative, so of course they won’t show you who they really are when you first meet them. They lure you into believing that they are someone completely different, maybe someone sweet and kind. You won’t find out their true personality until it’s too late

2. They don’t incorporate security into relationships

Narcissists tend to keep you on your toes. The last thing they want is for you to feel safe and secure in the relationship. It gives them pleasure to be above you in every way, and when you feel insecure it makes them secure in turn.

3. They never allow you to see them as the bad guy

In a narcissist’s mind they can never be the bad guy and they make sure you know it too. No matter what the situation is the blame will ultimately fall on you and this will make you feel like a terrible person, however they don’t care. You feeling bad about yourself is exactly what they want.

4. They don’t like losing control

Narcissists are control-freaks and losing control makes them extremely upset or angry. They need to have control of people and their surroundings. It gives them a sense of security in knowing that you will do whatever they want without question.

5. They won’t let people prove them wrong

A narcissist will argue that black is white until even you begin to believe it. This is one of the biggest traps to fall in when being around a narcissist. Arguing with them is a waste of time and effort; their manipulative nature will cause you to start doubting yourself and soon you’ll start believing them.

6. They don’t see others as equals

Narcissists believe they are on top of the world – they don’t believe anyone is on the same level as them. If you try and associate yourself with them as an equal, then they will do anything in your power to bring you down so they are on top once again.

7. They never have sympathy

These are the kinds of people who laugh while everyone cries during a sad movie. They don’t really care that your mother just went through a divorce or your parent just died. They don’t care about your feelings and they’re tired of hearing about your recent breakup or job loss. If it doesn’t concern them, they won’t bother with it.

8. They don’t do anything that doesn’t benefit them

They didn’t buy you dinner out of the kindness of their heart… They are probably going to ask you for a world of favors afterwards. Narcissists don’t do anything without a purpose to benefit them. Giving a narcissist what they want is the last thing you want to do.

9. They don’t take orders from others

Don’t try to order a narcissist around. They are egotistical people, and trying to take control is a big hit to their self-esteem. It wouldn’t be surprising to later find yourself in a plot for vengeance later on, just for trying to take control of a narcissist.

10. They don’t like to admit they have feelings

Narcissist of not, everyone has feelings. They undoubtedly feel emotions differently to other people but a narcissist will often say: “I don’t have feelings.” This is of course an excuse for all the horrible things they can sometimes do. They use the pretense of not knowing how emotions work to get away with anything without people thinking badly of them.

11. They don’t listen

They don’t listen, they just wait for you to shut up so they can say what’s on their mind. They really don’t care about what you have to say, all they’re concerned about is your willingness to listen to them rant on and on.

12. They don’t stick around

If you’re staring to bore them in any friendship or relationship, expect a narcissist to pack up and leave. They want attention, and if you aren’t giving them what they want then don’t expect them to stick around.

13. They don’t pick unattractive friends

As mentioned, narcissists don’t do anything that doesn’t benefit them. Picking friends is one of those examples. They surround themselves with attractive and upper-class people making them feel more superior and invincible. It will be rare to find a narcissist surrounded with an unattractive, undesirable crowd.

14. They don’t give compliments

Narcissists want to be complimented. They don’t have to make people feel good about themselves because it’s not their job to do so. You’d be lucky to get a compliment from a narcissist, and even if you do you have reason to be suspicious.

15. They don’t like to be polite

At the best of times a narcissistic sense of superiority allows them to feel exempt from the rules of society – common courtesy being one of these exemptions. No matter how tempting it is, don’t disrespect a narcissist, because they are definitely not going to turn the other cheek.

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The 5 “Cs” That Will Strengthen Our Personal Brand On The Internet

Whether we like it or not (and whether we know it or not), we all have a brand on the Internet.  It has become common for employers, potential business partners, and even potential relationship partners to “Google” us, and find out what the Internet says about us, before engaging in any form of relationship.

When it comes to our “online brand”, Chris Anderson, best selling author of the Long Tail and former editor of Wired Magazine, has famously noted:

Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is

The strength of our brand can be one of the key determining factors when it comes to our business success, and it can also impact the job and career opportunities that come our way.

There are 5 specific ways (the 5 “Cs”) that we can strengthen our personal brand on the Internet, starting today.

1. Create Unique Content

First, we have to commit to becoming a “content creator.”  What does this mean?  It means that on a regular basis, whether it be through blogging, writing guest articles on other blogs, creating videos, sharing pictures, or some other form of unique content, we are sharing things that we have created that, in some way, add value to others.  Value is subjective, but the nature of what we create will reflect what we are “known for.”  If we consistently create informative and inspiring content that helps people in their lives, we will be known for that.  So start with asking this question: “what do I want to be known for?”  Then go out and start creating content in that area.

2. Join Relevant Communities

We can strengthen our personal brand by establishing ourselves in online communities that are relevant to our interests.  There are lots of ways to get “engaged” in communities.  We can join Facebook and LinkedIn groups.  We can also participate in popular forums relating to our interests. In addition, we can participate in relevant blogs.  It is important that when we join these communities we have a link back to our website, LinkedIn profile or other social media profile, so that people can get to know us, and also see the unique content that we are creating (see Point 1).

3. Contribute to Interesting Discussions

This is a really important one. Our contribution is what will help us to become part of a community, and also to establish real connections with others in that community (more to come on that point). When we contribute to interesting discussions on relevant group pages, blogs or forums, we need to make sure that the contribution is meaningful.  One of the annoying things that I find in the world of online marketing is what I call “selfish contribution.” Where someone will post a comment, but it is clear that they haven’t really read the article that they are posting about.  They are just trying to establish a backlink and direct attention away from the discussion, and back to them and their blog / product / etc.  If you’re going to contribute, then really contribute.  Be present.  Make it meaningful. That is how you will attract others to you.

4. Make Real Connections

When you join relevant communities and make positive contributions, you will soon establish new connections.  Be open to them.  If people comment on your blog, then thank them for their contribution and provide a comment back.  But don’t make connections just to “pad your numbers.” This isn’t meaningful, and the search engines are smart enough to know the difference between a “fake” like, follower or friend and a real one.  Also, don’t be afraid to reach out, whether it be in the form of tweeting, email, LinkedIn requests, etc. to people who you admire and you’d like to connect with.  I have made numerous positive connections over the years by tweeting authors who I admire and respect, and thanking for them for their latest book (note: only after I have actually read the book).  When you give a sincere compliment, and it is clear that you don’t have selfish intentions, your positivity is often reciprocated.  However, and this is very important:  DON’T SPAM PEOPLE.  It is annoying.  It doesn’t work, and it won’t help your personal brand.

5. Cooperate By Sharing Interesting Links, Videos, and Articles

It isn’t all about you and what you’ve created.  Share the unique content of others.  If you read an article that is really good, and related to what you are interested in, then share it.  Use multiple social networks to do so.  If you come across a video (whether it’s humorous or inspiring) related to your area of interest, share it!  Over time you will also gain a reputation as not only someone who creates positive content (Point 1) but also as a “facilitator” of unique and positive content.  You will be known as someone “worth knowing” because of what you consistently share.

Today, I’m going to briefly walk you through each, so you have a better idea of where you stand and what you need to do to find your passion, monetize it and lead a happy life.

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10 Reasons You Should Start a Blog

Blogging is fast becoming the quickest way to express yourself online. With it being both free and potentially valuable to start a blog, more people are joining the blogging community than ever; so why should you join too? What is so good about blogging that means everyone should have a go?

1. You’ll gain confidence.

Blogging is the shy person’s stage. You can be center of attention, meeting new people by gaining follows and likes, all within the safety of your own limits. Your blog is your own, whatever you want it to be, and it’s a great way of gaining confidence whether it’s in the field you’re writing in or personal expression.

2. It’s a form of diary.

Writing a diary is long outdated. However, blogging is essentially a collection of diary entries for the world to see. Your blog can be your own secret place on the Internet; anonymous or not, there’s a comfort in the thoughts and helpful advice of Internet friends. There are no expectations with blogging, despite the majority of followers being strangers,

3. Blogging is great writing experience.

Trying to get into freelance writing? Blogging is the best way to show your writing is current, and you’re writing regularly. As soon as you’ve created your first post, you’re officially published on the Internet, and can promote yourself to companies far more easily by linking your blog than showing outdated articles.

4. There is potential financial gain.

With blogging becoming more and more prolific, there is no doubt that its becoming a profession to be taken very seriously. Blogging is easily a full-time job, if a blog is expected to reach its full potential, and money can be made with hard work and perseverance. Advertising on your blog can help you financially, as can accepting sponsors if you’re reviewing products, but ultimately your blog can lead you to a career in blogging, which may seem far off for someone starting a blog, but it’s becoming far more acceptable in this day and age.

5. The blogging community is great.

All fellow bloggers want is for other bloggers to be part of the community, and be involved by following blogs and leaving comments. With websites like “Bloglovin” it’s easy to have a contained place on the Internet for your favorite blogs, while gaining inspiration for your own posts and articles.

6. It allows potential for self growth.

Broadcasting yourself online allows time for reflection, perspective. You will be able to look back on past work and ideas and learn from them, promoting not only a form of diary entry, but also the idea of self growth. By envisaging your ideas in a public form, it allows your creativity to grow, as well as your confidence and ambitions.

7. It allows development of technological skills.

It is very difficult not to learn basic technological skills while blogging. Whether it’s simply editing pictures and using templates, or changing the aesthetics of your blog by using basic coding, you’ll learn a lot of basic yet valuable information about the technological age in which we live. Social media, SEO writing, picture formatting—these are all basic skills you can pick up within the first couple of weeks of starting your blog.

8. It gives people a creative outlet.

Blogging allows a creative outlet for those who have become consumed by everyday life. By giving you the flexibility to blog when you wish, it can become a way to channel creativity without imposing on your day-to-day responsibilities. What better a way to be creative than in the comfort of your own home, when you have the time to enjoy it.

9. Blogging is the current way to market a business.

These days, companies are crazy not to have embraced the blogging world. It’s all very well having a professional website, but if you use a blog that is regularly updated to show current offers and promotions, clients will see you as more approachable, current, and most importantly more involved in your business.

10. And finally, it creates opportunities.

The final and perhaps most important reason to start a blog: it creates endless opportunities for its owner, whether it be in the form of friendship, financial gain or self-growth, blogging certainly puts your personality out there to the world and gets you noticed in a very unique way.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and create your own little space on the Internet—you won’t regret it.

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