Our course page features online courses that we’ve used collectively in learning circles. Of course, there are 1000’s of online courses on the web, but there is a wide variety of quality, technical understanding requirements, and availability. We try to feature the best that work for us all!
Still, it might be helpful to see what else is out there. I stumbled across this list from GCF Learn Free which seems to capture a good number of online which seems to be updated every year. Note that not all of these are actually free! Here’s the printable PDF document and full list below, which can also be found on GCF Learn Free.
Adult Basic Education
- TV411 (tv411.org)
• Engaging videos and activities on reading, writing, vocabulary, math,
science, and finance
• Includes a Spanish-language section
• Users are not required to but can register for a free account to keep track
of their lessons and videos
• Includes a section for teachers with resources, guides, and lessons - PBS LiteracyLink (litlink.ket.org)
• Wide range of adult basic education resources with interactive lessons,
including high school equivalency test prep and workplace essential skills
• Teacher accounts allow access to a collection of lesson plans and
handouts via virtual classrooms
• Designed to help adult build basic skills for lifelong learning - Hopelink Adult Education Tutor Support
(eastsideliteracy.org/tutorsupport/General/GeneralLessonList.htm)
• A collection of lesson ideas specifically for adult educators in basic ESL,
workplace skills, reading and writing, math, GED preparation, and lessons
specific to learning-disabled students
• Special lesson ideas for working with ESL and learning-disabled students
Digital Literacy Topics
- Digital Literacy (digitalliteracy.gov)
• Offers free tutorials, skills assessments, and other resources for educators
and users curated from organizations around the country to help
individuals improve their digital literacy skills - DigitalLearn (digitallearn.org)
• Public Library Association website that serves as an online hub for digital
literacy support and training
• Includes a collection of self-directed tutorials for learners to increase their
digital literacy skills, and a community of practice for digital literacy
trainers to share resources, tools, and best practices - Learn My Way (learnmyway.com)
• U.K.-based organization that offers free tutorials in using computers and
devices, using the Internet, staying safe online, finding a job online, and
improving your health, managing your money, and using public services
online - BBC Webwise (bbc.co.uk/webwise)
• Offers video tutorials and articles for beginner computer users to improve
their digital literacy skills
• Topics include Internet safety, social networks and blogs, and applying for
jobs online - My Web My Way (bbc.co.uk/accessibility)
• Provides accessibility help to enable computer users to make the most of
the Internet, regardless of ability
• How-to guides include those who are hearing and vision impaired, as well
as those who may have physical disabilities - OnGuard Online (onguardonline.gov)
• Government website that offers free online security tips and resources for
individuals, educators, and parents, as well as videos and games to
improve digital literacy and enhance online safety - EveryoneOn (everyoneon.org)
• National nonprofit working to eliminate the digital divide by making
affordable Internet, low-cost computers, and free digital literacy courses
available to all unconnected U.S. residents - Northstar Digital Literacy Project (digitalliteracyassessment.org)
• Defines basic skills needed to perform tasks on computers and online
through self-guided modules in areas including basic computer use,
Internet, Windows, macOS, email, Microsoft Office, social media, and
information literacy
• Learners can earn a free certificate through successful completion of the
assessment at a sponsored site
Advanced Technology Topics
- Codeacademy (codeacademy.com)
• An education company where users can learn to code interactively for free
(there’s also a paid version)
• Partners with experts to offer industry-relevant skills and technologies - Learn X in Y Minutes (learnxinyminutes.com)
• Community-driven tour of the most common computer programming
languages - W3Schools (w3schools.com)
• Users can educate themselves on web development languages like HTML,
CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, and Bootstrap using simple code explanations
and illustrations
• Tutorials start from the basic level and move all the way up to professional
references
• Learners can study for free at their own pace; a certificate is available for a
fee - Envato Tuts+ (code.tutsplus.com/design.tutsplus.com)
• Sister sites that offer a sampling of free learning guides in software
development from mobile devices to web applications, including coding,
web design, 3D and motion graphics, photography, and music and audio
• Also offer full courses, but most are not free (there’s a monthly
subscription to access both sites) - PCWorld How-Tos (pcworld.com/howto.html)
• Publishes technology-focused tutorials, articles, and videos on electronic
gadgets, hardware, and software applications like Microsoft Excel - OSXDaily (osxdaily.com)
• Chronicle of important Apple-related news, helpful information, tips,
tricks, and reviews - Lynda (lynda.com)
• Provider of thousands of courses in business, technology, and creative
skills
• NOT FREE, but many libraries have a group membership, providing patrons
with access; also offers a free 30-day trial
• Owned by LinkedIn
College-Type Experiences
- Coursera (coursera.org)
• A massive open online course (MOOC) that offers 1,000+ online courses
from 120+ partners
• Not all courses are free; some are free, while others range from $29 to $99
each and include recorded video lectures, auto-graded and peer-reviewed
assignments, and community discussion forums
• Learners receive a shareable electronic course certificate upon completion
of a course or class; also includes MBA programs from internationally
recognized universities - EdX (edx.org)
• Harvard- and MIT-founded nonprofit MOOC offering 200+ free online
classes from more than 130 global partners
• Open-source programs include computer science, data and statistics,
business and management, languages, engineering, and the humanities
• Learners receive a free honor code certificate or a verified certificate for a
fee - Saylor Academy (saylor.org)
• Not a MOOC but offers 90+ courses and areas of study set up to mirror
what learners would find at a traditional university
• Subjects include art history, biology, business, chemistry, communication,
computer science, economics, English, history, math, physics, philosophy,
political science, professional development, psychology, and sociology
• Offers free certificates and college credits for some courses, as well as a
self-paced business degree - University of the People (uopeople.edu)
• Tuition-free, accredited online American university offering access to
undergraduate degree programs
• Students pay a small fee to apply and process exams, but scholarships are
available to offset these fees
• Not a MOOC; offers student support services, including advising, as well as
free access to course materials
• Popular topics include business administration, computer science, and
health science - MIT OpenCourseware (ocw.mit.edu)
• Web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content that’s open and
available to anyone
• Topics include business, energy, engineering, fine arts, health and
medicine, humanities, math, science, social science, society, and teaching
and education
• Popular subjects include algebra, computer science, calculus,
microeconomics, and quantum physics
• Open Education Consortium (oeconsortium.org)
• Global nonprofit network of educational institutions, individuals, and
organizations supporting an approach to education based on openness,
including collaboration, innovation, and collective development and use of
open educational materials
• Offers a search engine on Open Educational Resources, which are openly
licensed online education materials that allow teachers and students to
freely use, share, and modify - Academic Earth (academicearth.org)
• Curated collection of more than 750 free online courses from colleges in
the United States and around the world
• Subjects include art and design, business and management, computers
and technology, criminal justice, liberal arts and humanities, nursing and
health care, psychology and counseling, and trades - Open Education Database (oedb.org)
• Comprehensive online education directory of more than 1,600 schools for
both free and for-credit learning options
• Almost identical to Academic Earth in terms of site navigation and
subjects offered - iVersity (iversity.org)
• MOOC for online learning that enables universities to share a broad range
of courses with students around the world
• While most courses are in English, some are available in German
• Some courses are free, but most require a paid Pro account
Language Learning
- Duolingo (duolingo.com)
• Users can learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch,
Czech, Welsh, Danish, Greek, Esperanto, Irish, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian,
High Valyrian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian,
Russian, Swedish, Swahili, Klingon, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Chinese free
• Users create a profile to set and reach daily goals - BBC Languages (bbc.co.uk/languages/)
• Courses and other resources for people learning French, German, Italian,
Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Greek, and 33 additional languages
• Note: The site has been archived and is no longer being updated - Mango Languages (mangolanguages.com)
• Users can learn more than 50 languages, including English, which is taught
in 15 languages
• Includes specialty courses covering cultures and themes, as well as
language learning through film
• Not free, but public libraries often offer access via library membership - Verbling (verbling.com)
• Matches learners with people speaking the language they are trying to
learn; teachers set their own fees
• Half the conversation involves speaking a learner’s native language, while
the other half is spent speaking another language - WordReference (wordreference.com)
• Features English definitions for words in 15 languages, including Spanish,
French, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Chinese
• Also features Spanish, French, and Italian dictionaries - Learn That Word (learnthat.org)
• Users can practice spelling, learn English, or study vocabulary for tests like
the SAT, GRE, and TOEFL for free
• The Purdue Writing Lab (owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html)
• Offers more than 200 free resources, including writing and teaching
writing, research, grammar and mechanics, style guides, ESL, and job
search and professional writing -
GCFAprendeLibre.org (https://edu.gcfglobal.org/es/)
• Offers a free course for native Spanish speakers to learn English
• Uses a mix of text, interactive, and video-based instruction
• GCFAprendeLivre.org (https://edu.gcfglobal.org/pt/)
• Offers a free course for native Portuguese speakers to learn English
• Uses a mix of text, interactive, and video-based instruction
General Education
- Memrise (memrise.com)
• Uses game-based and visual content to help users boost skills in
vocabulary, languages, history, and science
• Includes more than 200 courses created by expert linguists, as well as
20,000 native-speaker videos
• Basic version is free; paid Pro version offers more features for a monthly
subscription - Open Culture (openculture.com)
• Free cultural and educational media, including audio books, online courses,
certificate courses/MOOCs, movies, audiobooks, eBooks, K-12 resources,
lectures, and language lessons
• Free courses include topics like astronomy, business, chemistry, computer
science, economics, history, literature, philosophy, physics, and religion
• iTunes U (apple.com/education/ipad/itunes-u/)
• Helps teachers deliver lessons, grade assignments, and stay connected
using their iPads
• Features include homework hand-in, an integrated gradebook, and private
discussions - Learner Web (learnerweb.org)
• Learning support system for adults who want to accomplish specific
learning objectives, including improving their basic skills, increasing digital
literacy, and preparing for a job
• Users create their own learning plans based on what they want to learn
more about
• CSM Learn (csmlearn.com)
• Self-paced online course powered by adaptive learning technology to cater
to each individual learner by analyzing student response through skills and
emotions
• Students earn a CSM certificate upon completion of the program that
certifies the essentials of fluent workplace math and literacy, problem-solving
strategies, attention to detail, ability to learn on their own,
persistence and self-reliance, and self-efficacy
• Most of it is free, though the certificate and a CSM-provided coach are not
Educational Videos - Khan Academy (khanacademy.org)
• Free online education using an extensive library of content, including
interactives, assessments, and videos
• Focus is on math, science, finance, arts and humanities, economics and
finance, test preparation, and computing
• Designed for teachers, parents helping their children, and students - YouTube (youtube.com)
• Offers thousands of channels in science, education, DIY, and just about
any topic imaginable - TED (ted.com)
• Informational videos on a variety of topics from some of the greatest
thinkers in the world - Ignite (ignitetalks.io)
• Series of speedy presentations in which presenters get 20 slides, which
automatically advance every 15 seconds; each presentation lasts 5 minutes
• Includes both the online video compontent and in-person events
Free Books
- Textbook Revolution (textbookrevolution.org)
• Student-run site that gives users access to free textbooks in subjects
ranging from accounting to chemistry - Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org)
• Gives users access to 57,000+ free e-books, all in the public domain - The Free Library by Farlex (thefreelibrary.com)
• The go-to place for access to newspapers, magazines, journal articles, and
classic books
• Offers 34,252,522 articles and books in a range of subjects, including
business, health, humanities, entertainment, communications, science,
law, and social sciences