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A renaissance woman with a variety of knowledge is unstoppable.
But continuing your education can put a serious dent in your wallet. Instead of shelling out the cold hard cash for courses, diversify your skills with courses online that are free to the public.
Read on for 10 online resources bringing you free opportunities for course materials, certifications, lessons, and coaching to enrich your resume and intellect.
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MIT Open CourseWare
Want training from a world renowned university? Here’s your opportunity. Through the MIT Open Courseware site, hungry learners can choose from lesson topics including entrepreneurship, media arts, management, and much more. Check out some of their most visited courses and start taking Ivy League college classes today.
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The Open University
The Open University, “home of free learning,” offers subject matter for learners to update their skills, receive certifications, and more. With just an internet connection you get hundreds of free lessons and coursework to improve your skills and learn some new ones.
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The Codecademy
A free opportunity to sharpen your coding skills, Codecademy will teach you how to make websites and how to use HTML, CSS and Javascript along with other platforms. The Codeacdemy is “committed to building the best learning experience inside and out.”
Employees that can code are in high demand and this is a great way to start. Don’t get intimidated with coding either. Read how a user went from laid off to paid by using the website.
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Coursera
The courses at Coursera are a collection taken from top universities worldwide. This resources goal is to offer quality education to all and empower people to improve their lives. You can search for courses based on topic, specialization, or institution.
TED Talks
Although TED Talks isn’t a course per se, the talks within TED are worth noting as a valuable free resource. Each talk, in under 18 minutes, shares an idea to inspire you or increase your awareness on a topic.
The talks are given by the world’s most inspired thinkers. Want to watch a good talk? Try this one, “Color Blind or Color Brave“.
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EdX
Another site with free online courses from some of the best universities. EdX is home to a compilation of coursework from Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Cornell and many others. Take real classes on your own schedule and network with other passionate learners in the peer-to-peer section.
HubSpot
Interested in becoming a certified in-bound marketing professional? Get this free certification from HubSpot which covers knowledge in areas like blogging, landing page conversion, and social media marketing.
Check out the inbound marketing certification study guide to decide if this program is for you!
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Duolingo
Learning another language looks amazing on your resume. If you don’t have Rosetta Stone money, no problem. Try Duolingo for free. This site is very interactive and pushes you to stay motivated while learning. Duolingo is also downloadable on your smartphone, so you practice a second language from anywhere.
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Stanford Ecorner
Stanford Ecorner is for all you entrepreneurs out there. Gain perspective and proven business advice from videos and Podcasts with innovative entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Some topics include creativity, leadership, finance, marketing, and team building.
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Google Coding Vouchers
Calling all tech geeks! Google began offering vouchers to women and minorities for a continuous learning opportunity at The Code School in June 2014. Vouchers were awarded to aspiring and working technology professionals to sharpen their skills in program coding.
The initiative started as an answer to low diversity in the technology community. Although the program has since paused it’s acceptance of applications due to high demand, it’s a valuable opportunity to be aware of in case it reopens. Join the Women Techmakers network to stay updated on learning opportunities such as this one.
