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Free Resources to Learn and Read Nearly Anything. I believe in the open source movement—in giving the gift of learning and knowledge freely and openly to anyone with an internet connection. And the internet alone is a huge barrier for many, but once you have the internet and a computer, I believe we all should easily have ways to learn. This type of knowledge infrastructure was unfathomable even a few decades ago, but now that we have it, I believe this access is a right, not a privilege. And though I believe in the right for authors, teachers, and creators to make a living from their works (books, online courses, and the like), I don’t see these two ideas as mutually exclusive, and I love that our world is moving closer toward a free exchange of ideas and knowledge.

My first access to this idea of open knowledge sharing was through the website Open Culture, which strives to do exactly that—collect all the free and open resources. Free (and Legal) Places to Download Books Purchasing a Kindle changed my life for the better. Learnhigher | Free teaching & learning resources for UK higher education. Free Online Classes | Online Learning | Academic Earth. You're Bored? That's So AWESOME. Free Online Course Materials | MIT OpenCourseWare. Explore more. Web pages, photos, and videos | StumbleUpon.com.

5 Ways to Give Yourself an Education That Kicks the Crap Out of the One You Got in School One of the biggest reasons that people are denied the privilege of education is because they can’t afford it. However, today we live in a world where knowledge and information are at our finger tips like never before. Technology has leveled the playing field so that anybody with an interest and an internet connection can receive a world class education.

Bloggers, podcasters, search engines and digital content creators of all types of have made it possible for us to learn virtually anything we want to even if we don’t have the money. If you want to learn anything chances are there is somebody creating content about the subject and sharing it with the world at no cost. Self Motivation is Not Optional Taking this kind of approach to educating yourself requires an extremely high degree of self motivation. 1. 2. Want to learn how to get in shape? 3. 4. 5. Education as we know it is changing rapidly. Explore more. Web pages, photos, and videos | StumbleUpon.com. The web is a powerful resource that can easily help you learn new skills. You just have to know where to look. Sure, you can use Google, Yahoo, or Bing to search for sites where you can learn new skills , but I figured I’d save you some time.

Here are the top 40 sites I have personally used over the last few years when I want to learn something new. Hack a Day - Hack a Day serves up fresh hacks (short tutorials) every day from around the web and one in-depth ‘How-To hack’ guide each week.eHow - eHow is an online community dedicated to providing visitors the ability to research, share, and discuss solutions and tips for completing day-to-day tasks and projects.Wired How-To Wiki - Collaborate with Wired editors and help them build their extensive library of projects, hacks, tricks and tips.

Browse through hundreds how-to articles and then add to them, or start a new one.MAKE Magazine - Brings the do-it-yourself (DIY) mindset to all of the technology in your life. 12 Dozen Places To Educate Yourself Online For Free. 100 Free Online Ivy League Courses You Should Take Just for Fun. By Alisa Miller Even those without top notch grades can now go to Ivy League schools. With the the availability of open courseware classes coming out of some of the finest schools in America, the range of subjects is astounding. If you have ever wondered about the beginnings of Hip Hop, wanted to learn a new language, would like to create a film for social change, or are interested in learning about robotics while playing with Legos, then these courses are right up your alley.

All you need to do is click on any one of these courses below to have access to free, online education. Health and Nutrition From an aging population to autism to creating chemistry in the kitchen, these < ahref=" courses provide interesting perspectives on health and nutrition issues. Health Across the Lifespan: Frameworks, Contexts, and Measurements. Fine Arts From the art of color to theater to music, these courses will expand your knowledge while learning something fun. 12 great free online courses. Much ado has been made in recent years over the quickly rising cost of healthcare in the United States. But the cost of college tuition and fees has skyrocketed at nearly twice that rate. Going to college today will cost a student 559% more than it did in 1985, on average.

In an exciting talk given at TEDGlobal 2012, Stanford professor Daphne Koller explains why she was inspired — alongside fellow professor Andrew Ng — to create Coursera, which brings great classes from top universities online for free. Coursera classes have specific start dates, require students to take quizzes and turn in assignments, as well as allowing professors to customize their course into online chunks rather than simply recording their lectures. Even outside of Coursera, the number of college classes available on a computer screen rather than in a brick-and-mortar lecture hall is staggering. At TEDxEastside Prep, Scott Young gave the intriguing talk — “Can you get an MIT education for $2,000?”