The Best Free Education Sites On The Web

I live in the United States, and we have a big problem with our education system. Underfunded and facing further cuts, just the public school system has some serious flaws. When it comes to college we have an even bigger issue as students can't attend without a scholarship or lifelong debt. It is a threat to the future of coming generations, and one that we have to do something about.

But while politicians waffle on about how to fix the problem without real progress, the people are taking their own steps. Online you can now find a number of sources for online education. This includes ivy league universities, certification programs and even K-12.

As an exhaustive list would be difficult to create since so many states are now issuing their own official online education courses, I thought I would stick with independent ones. Here are some of the best education sources on the net, which have no official affiliation with a single state or school.

Khan Academy

Math, science, economics, computer science, and humanities are just some of the subjects that are offered at Khan Academy. They also have test prep, resources through partners, help for people who plan to use Khan as a teaching tool and a lot more. Everything is based around video lessons in each category, which you can watch in your own time.

Coursera

Dedicated to the principle of “learning without limits”, this open source site gives anyone around the world access to the same courses taught in the best schools around the globe. They currently have 418 classes available from 84 education partners. You just find the course you want to take, enroll for free and learn alongside others who are taking it along with you. Watch video lectures, take quizzes, turn in peer graded assignments, and speak one on one with classmates and teachers. All of this can be done in your own time.

Open Culture

Less socially involved, we have Open Culture. You can choose from audio books, online courses, certificate courses, movies, languages, K-12 resources and ebooks. There is a huge amount of content here that you can peruse as you like. Courses are viewed independently, so if you prefer not to have classmate interaction this is a better site for you.

University of Reddit

Reddit is becoming increasingly popular by the day. Many experts in different fields have flocked there to take part in discussions. Now they are also creating courses that you can follow through the University of Reddit. Everything from Fine Arts Theory to Category Theory to Makeup Application is taught here, so you are sure to find something to interest you.

Professor Messer

Do you need a computer certification but don't have the money to spend on CompTIA courses? Or maybe you would just rather save that cash? Professor Messer has extensive video lectures and resources to get you ready for the A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+ and Microsoft certification tests. It is all free.

Memerise

Play games, create memes and learn different skills like other languages, the history of art forms and more. People create helpful courses on this site, and you go through and learn along with them. They are fun, and the use of memes and visual clues make it easy to remember details. Courses vary from a few minutes to several hours in length.

LiveMocha

The world is being increasingly globalized. Which means it is important that we better communicate with one another. Becoming bilingual is an important skill that everyone should take part in. This is the largest language community on the web, with access to free courses in more than 35 languages so far. Converse with others so you can both better learn to use one another's languages.

These are only some of the websites out there dedicated to free education. Even sites like YouTube now have many resources to help teach the world different subjects. While it might seem that education around the world is weakening, the internet is offering a unique opportunity to learn individually in a way we never have before.