Free Online Courses for Adults
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
These words by Anthony J. D’Angelo are very true. Learning is most definitely a life-long skill that allows you to grow mentally and emotionally as a person. And there are many ways you can learn.
You can learn through experiences. You can learn from your mistakes. And, of course, you can learn from structured classes and courses.
If you are interested in taking classes, you have several different ways to go about this. You can enroll in a local college or university to further your education. You can pay for online courses that are often from accredited colleges but allow you the flexibility to access the course from home. Or, if you are seeking knowledge, but don’t require earning credits, you can enroll in one of the many free online education sites.
There are many sites available where you can learn about a wide variety of topics. Take a look at some of these popular sites for free online courses. You might find something that sparks your interest!
- Coursera: Coursera offers both paid and free online courses. You can do a simple search for “free courses” and be directed to courses on many different topics. For example, The University of Pennsylvania offers a free course entitled “How to Apply to College” via Coursera that might help if you have children getting ready to start the college application process. Or, if you’re interested in learning the basics of Python 3 – you can take a free course here.
- Udemy: Udemy is very similar to Coursera in that it offers both paid and free courses. Once again, you can do a simple search for free courses. There are courses on sewing basics, meditation, Facebook marketing, and much more.
- edX: When you arrive at the edX website, do a quick search for free courses, and you will see a list of what courses are currently available for enrollment and those that are upcoming. They have an excellent selection of courses in the areas of business, computer science, and data analysis, along with other subject areas.
- Alison: With over 400 free courses, you are bound to find something that interests you here. You can filter your search by choosing from categories such as humanities, lifestyle, or marketing. Alison also offers a selection of courses with free digital certificates upon completion.
- Harvard Extension: Have you always dreamed about studying at Harvard? While it may not actually give you a Harvard diploma, Harvard Extension offers free online courses. The offerings are very limited, but if you’ve ever been curious about Harvard and their classes, this might provide you with a sneak peek.
- TEDEd: From the great people who bring you TED Talks comes TEDEd. These are extremely short (10 minutes or less) videos that are designed to provide education on topics ranging from “How to Spot a Pyramid Scam” to “Did Ancient Troy Really Exist?” You’ll love the brevity and awesome animation!
- Open Culture: Open Culture offers over 1300 free courses. They are broken down by subject area and include topics related to physics, history, literature, math and more.
If you’re looking for a new way to gain knowledge, expand your skills or just learn something new because you love learning, spend some time exploring these sites. These sites make online learning flexible, easy and free (at least for certain courses).