Whether you want to learn something new and interesting or you're just straight-up bored, venture through these links. They're creative and motivating, hilarious and addicting, serious and cultured.
EdX
EdX is one of the big, non-profit MOOC (massive online-open course) platform and provider. This is where the best-of-the-best courses from renowned universities and organizations come from. Courses, such as those from MITx, HarvardX, BerkeleyX, and UTx, all create the collaborative initiative edX had to begin with. The two founding partners, Harvard and MIT, created the initiative of the educational, open source, and online interaction for the individual.
Coursera
Knowledge on steroids. This for-profit MOOC slaughtered its competitors (i.e. Udemy, Udacity) in popularity and press coverage in 2012. Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller are the founders promoting, “Learning without Limits”. Why does everyone love Coursera? Because the variety of courses seem unlimited and they are free: no cost to watch lectures, no fee required to join a course, and no down payment to learn something new. Coursera works with 108 universities (e.g. Duke University; Standford University; Princeton) to generate revenue by giving students the option to receive an authentic “Verified Certificate”. In some cases, this can be used to earn college credit, or simply used to manifest one's knowledge. The American Council on Education approved five courses on Coursera to be considered college credit – safe to say, I got myself an account.
Udemy
Udemy: variety, variety, variety. I love this site because it has more than just the core curriculum offered at my University; the topics range from “Marketing your Brand Name” to “Digital Photography: How-to-Basics”. That being said, it has an audience that searches for the essential gist of a topic, nothing too elaborate. Although the professor at Stanford isn’t on your screen, the instructor from Udemy still holds expertise and must have Udemy approval to create and teach the courses he or she provides - So, yes it is legitimate information!
Udacity
Udacity, another educational MOOC provider platform, has gone beyond its comfort zone and seems to focus more on one niche: IT career building. Udacity’s courses are created and taught by reliable experts at top-notch tech companies where they narrow the playing field to distinguished courses for professional growth in Internet Technology. I would recommend this site to those interested in computer technology, programming, and big data. “Education should empower students to succeed not just in school but in life.” –Udacity Mission Statement
Khan Academy
I created an account on Khan Academy... and so did my 11-year-old sister. But, don't let that fool you - this is where I learned HTML code for building websites, which is pretty damn awesome. HTML is just the basics of code as far as I know, and I thought it was borderline challenging. The courses vary on age, skill and level of knowledge, allowing the student to simply pick-and-choose. I find it remarkable the way the can market to any person, at any age, by simply tweaking the old methods of how a student has always been taught: Khan added creativity and spark to learning. You can mess around on this site for hours, going through topics of interest and never get We like to be amused and inspired, and this is exactly what Khan Academy does.
Investopedia
This is more for the business-type gurus. From information and tactics on investing and personal finances to the greatest feature it has to offer, “free trading simulators,” Investopedia capitalizes on teaching newbs (aka: me) how to make intelligent decisions when investing in stocks and trading on the market – it’s all done by gaming a virtual stock market and allowing the newb to explore. It’s brilliant.
Graphisme
For all the creative designers out there, this site offers numerous addictive games that craft your skill and interest in the field of coding, design, or programming.
BigThink
Videos, articles, playlists, and the expertise behind the scene, Big Think offers incredible insight on amazing topics. Big Think is a knowledge forum, offering up-to-date ideas of innovation and conflict while also providing lessons on core education. It’s all about just knowledge that is significant, relevant, and applicable. “As we move from the information age to the knowledge era, the more ideas you command, the more you will be able to guide the course of your own life.” –Big Think Team
BuzzFeed
Addicting, hilarious, inspiring blogs - doesn't get much better than that. You'll read some articles that will have you nodding your head agreeing with a bit of shame, thinking "Wow, that's totally me!" but then again, you'll read some that are going to inspire you to work on the "7 Characteristics A Leader Has!" Either way, you'll still end up missing an entire lecture while zoning out. You were obviously too busy reading about all "24 Times Harry Potter Was The Worst Character Ever". Try not to get on here during class...
Learning Mind
Mind=Blown. Thats all I have to say about this site. The "New Theory States Milky Way Might Be a Giant Wormhole" article... Um, what?
LifeHacker
My favorite pastime: LifeHacker is an online resource providing tips, information, and ideas for every aspect of our lives. The phrase “lifehacks” is their coined motto that describes different styles of advice (i.e. tips) used to efficiently and effectively “get things done.”
From posts like, "10 Differences Between Middle Class And Rich People" to "20 Sarcastic Pictures - Rethink The Way We Live", knowledge evolves as an in-depth understanding and application of our own emotional-social intelligence.
Holy Motivation...
Eric Thomas is the most inspiring, motivational speaker of our generation. He is incredible at getting people riled up and searching for purpose or "that last bit of giving everything they got." Okay, that sounds a little cheesy. Just trust me, this guy is crazy good at what he does. Watch the short YouTube video above.
Fun fact: I work out to his YouTube videos, that's how pumped he'll get you.
