Today, self-education has become available to anyone. There are plenty of resources, materials, and tools on the web for pretty much any purpose and on a variety of topics. Some of them are paid and some are absolutely free of charge, so everyone can find something to suit their needs.
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A Guide to Self-Learning: 7 Sites to Try Now
If you are interested in self-learning but don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered! Below, we’ve gathered some of the best websites that each of you should try:
Wikiversity
Wikiversity is one of the best options for self-learning. This resource has a huge library of valid and accurate informational materials on nearly any topic you can think of. The website looks very similar to the well-known Wikipedia. Though it is considered to be more trustworthy and contains information only on academic-related subjects.
Wikiversity has many perks. It is helpful and very easy to use. In addition, it has a huge and proactive community of students. Thus, apart from helpful educational materials, this platform also offers you a friendly community portal, interesting news, and also lots of fun community projects in which users can participate.
PaperWriter
Speaking of the best educational tools for students, it is impossible not to mention the Paper Writer service. Some of you may already know this site or, at least, have heard of it. However, we bet that you know it only as a reliable essay writing service. But, in fact, it has more to offer.
If you are looking for helpful resources for self-education, you should definitely check out PaperWriter blog. The service employs professional academic writers with years of experience and they share everything they know with you on this blog. On the blog, you can find lots of helpful guides on how to write different types of papers. And what’s even more important, it’s all available free of charge!
Saylor Academy
The next great site is Saylor Academy. Today there are many online academies that provide helpful materials, online lectures, and even full courses. Although Saylor Academy may not be the most famous one of them, it is definitely one of the best ones.
This resource has something for everyone. The site features tons of free education opportunities on a wide range of subjects. It allows you to acquire new skills, discover new topics, earn credits for a degree, or even advance your career. All this can be done at your own pace. And, the best part is that you can access it at any time of day, wherever you are.
Ted
Ever heard of Ted before? If not, it is time to change this! In a nutshell, it is a famous US private nonprofit foundation. Ted is known all over the globe first of all thanks to its annual conferences that bring together some of the brightest minds and speakers, who share ideas on a variety of topics.
The foundation’s website contains lots of great materials, including Ted talks on a variety of topics. Some people may find it not exactly an educational resource. However, even though it may not teach you some basic school things, you can learn from it much more than you’d learn from a regular textbook!
Big Think
If you are looking for an easy and fun way to learn new things, then Big Think is a perfect site for you. This is a multimedia portal that covers a wide range of topics. Here, you will discover lots of interesting and valid information wrapped up in a fun video format.
In total, the website contains over 10,000 videos on lots of topics featuring proven industry experts. Apart from videos, there are lots of great articles that cover the hottest topics. Big Think is a resource each of you should try because it makes studying so much fun.
Coursera
One more great resource is Coursera. Given the vast popularity of this site, we bet that many of you have already heard about it. But, if you still didn’t give it a try, you should!
Coursera is one of the biggest online platforms with learning courses. It has a large selection of courses on almost any subject from Arts to Algebra. Typically, each course consists mostly of video lectures with a bit of print material and a few tests to assess what you’ve learned.
There are a few big benefits that Coursera offers its users. First of all, the courses offered on this website are provided by well-known universities and taught by proven experts, which means that the quality of each course is beyond all expectations. And, secondly, many courses here are available free of charge.
Khan Academy
The last resource on this list is Khan Academy. However, though we put it at number 7, it is no less effective or helpful than other sites we’ve discussed so far.
Khan Academy is similar to Coursera or Saylor Academy. It is an online learning platform that features thousands of materials and live classes for self-education, as well as full courses and practice sessions. Khan Academy allows everyone to study at their own pace and get real results.
Unlike Coursera or Saylor Academy, Khan Academy has a somewhat limited range of subjects. On this website, you can discover great courses on such subjects as Math, Science, Arts & Humanities, Computing, Economics, Reading & Language Arts, and Life Skills. In addition, here you can find lots of handy tools and materials for test prep. And all of this is also free of charge.
The Bottom Line
In the 21st century, self-education becomes more and more accessible every year. With modern technology and the Internet, people of all ages can learn something new every day, being pretty much anywhere. All they need to get started are the right websites.
All the websites on our list are worth being bookmarked. Each of them is different. But they all make self-education not only accessible but also simple. And, most importantly, these resources also make studying fun!
