More Online Resources For Education

Back in June of last year I posted some free online sites that have tons of free courses for a wide variety of curriculums. Well here are more to add to the list. Some have how-to walkthroughs videos, audio/pdf/video rss downloads, discussion groups, etc. and date back in the 90s. There is always more to learn...Enjoy the additions:

• Free-ED.net - A wide variety of courses that teach like a professor would...from Automotive, business, marketing, economics, computer studies, engineering, math/science, education, healthcare, etc. Free-ED has a lot to choose from.

• Berkeley.edu - Nothing beats free courses, especially from a prestigious school. There are dozens of courses to take provided each semester by either watching or listening.

• Princeton University - Stream all video archived lectures on the site for many different topics

• News University - Online courses for the training journalist are offered...many are live webinars that can hold you accountable for being there on-time to listen in. An abundance of topics for the industry are discussed and taught. If you don't see a topic that you're interested in, you can submit a proposal for that course to be posted.

• Culinary Courses - For that amazing cook/chef that is wanting to learn more and more, visit either the FoodNetwork.com's How-to section or Epicurious (For people who love to eat!). For each special recipe you can see others' tips and ideas on what to add or change...or, you can bring your ideas to the table to show everyone else. The walkthrough includes pictures, and of course the recipe.

Note: To see the resource article from last year, follow this link.

8 Online Resources For Learning New Languages

First off, all of these are completely free. If you're really interesting in learning a new dialect and don't have the money to spend on the classes, then check out the sites below for more information. Remember, just because you don't pay for it doesn't mean it's worthless. Most good information you get for free is good or better than paid for information.

BBC Languages - Comprehensive online courses for French, Spanish, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and Greek, with slightly briefer introductions to several other languages. This is the best option for starting a new language from the beginning as the curricula are well designed, very complete, and have features of a self-study program.

MIT OpenCourseWare - The Languages and Literatures department features courses in languages such as Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Spanish in addition to culture topics. They all include a detailed study plan to aid the self-learner in structuring a home course.

Internet Polyglot - The Internet Polyglot provides study materials for twenty-one languages. The unit-based materials available are ideal for a student already familiar with the basics of the language and interested in practicing specific areas and applications.

The Open University LeaningSpace - Similar to the Internet Polyglot, the LearingSpace provides unit-based study materials with a primary emphasis in French and Spanish.

Language Learning Podcasts - To find podcasts, iTunes users can navigate to the “education” category of the iTunes Music Store. Other listeners can browse popular podcast databases like Odeo or The Podcast Directory. A highlight of some of the more popular language podcasts includes Learn Greek, The French Podcast, ChinesePod, A Taste of Russian, and the Cherokee Language Podcast.

Madinah Arabic Language Course - Focusing on both spoken and written Arabic, this course takes the student from the first introductions through the advanced beginner level.

Livemocha - Livemocha is a social networking community focused on learning foreign languages. It provides free online courses in German, Mandarin Chinese, French, Spanish, and Hindi with plans to expand to other languages in the future. In addition to the online courses, available from introductory to intermediate levels, Livemocha provides an active community of language learners and native speakers willing to work with you and give help when needed. This community based approach makes Livemocha one of the most useful tools for the self-study of language.

Something Completely Different - Travelers interested in learning a more obscure, or even endangered language, should begin their research at the Ethnologue, an online database of all of the world’s 6,912 known living languages.

Dog receives degree from a university

This sound retarded? What is next...running for a political position or attempting to fight for puppy right to vote? I am all up for getting animals trained to help out humans in need, but I hope your son or daughter graduated higher than the pooch this year.

Ada, Ohio (AP) - A well-trained golden retriever will receive a bachelor's degree from Ohio Northern University today along with the rest of the graduating class.

Zeeke, a 1-year-old dog, will earn his bachelor's of science degree in canine companionship. The canine has spent thousands of hours training as a Canine Companion dog as part of a senior's honors project.

ONU President Kendall Baker said he believes this is the first time the university has ever awarded a diploma to an animal. Zeeke has learned to pull a wheelchair, open doors and retrieve fallen objects.

Canine Companions for Independence places service dogs with people in need for free.

Universities With the Best Free Online Courses

The industries comprised in the USA are all about that little piece of paper that most receive at the end of an educational career...that piece of paper stating that something has been accomplished. This paper makes companies believe that the person has a skill-set towards something. Now, in today's waste of space liberal college/university curriculum where useless information is being pumped into students, there is a huge amount of time thrown out to the study of things not needed. For people privileged enough to go to tech or subject centered schools this is less of a problem. To overcome the high prices and other things required to make a jump start career happen...
...Enter in free education from reputable establishments. Quite a few of these more than reputable, such as Universities of California at Irvine & Berkeley, Stanford, Carnegie, and of course MIT. So, here is the list of the best of the best for free online courses. Whether you are fully skilled or need ongoing education for just the right place, these resources are something look over without hesitation.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit.edu)
►Free MIT Courses Online
If you are looking for a wide range of free courses offered online, MIT is your best option. More than 1,800 free courses are offered through the school's OpenCourseWare project. Courses are in text, audio and video formats and translated into a number of different languages. Students all over the world use OpenCourseWare and 96 percent of visitors to this site say they would recommend it to someone else.

2. Open University (open.ac.uk)
►Free Open University Courses Online
The Open University is the UK's largest academic institution. The school's OpenLearn website gives everyone free access to both undergraduate and graduate-level course materials from The Open University. Courses cover a wide range of topics, such as the arts, history, business, education, IT and computing, mathematics and statistics, science, health and technology.

3. Carnegie Mellon University (cmu.edu)
►Free Carnegie Mellon Courses Online
Carnegie Mellon University offers a number of free online courses and materials through a program called Open Learning Initiative. OLI courses are intended to allow anyone at an introductory college level to learn about a particular subject without formal instruction. Course options include such offerings as statistics, biology, chemistry, economics, French and physics.

4. Tufts University (tufts.edu)
►Free Tufts University Courses Online
Like MIT, Tufts has OpenCourseWare that is available free to everyone. Courses are sorted by school (i.e. School of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, etc.) and include assignments, lecture notes and other supplementary materials.

5. Stanford (stanford.edu)
►Stanford Courses on iTunes U
Stanford University, one of the world's leading academic institutions, has joined forces with iTunes U in providing access to Stanford courses, lectures and interviews. These courses can be downloaded and played on iPods, PCs, and Macs and can also be burned to CDs. If you don't have iTunes, you can download it here for free.

6. University of California, Berkeley (berkeley.edu)
►Free UC Berkley Courses Online
UC Berkley has been offering live and on-demand webcasts of certain courses since 2001. Hundreds of UC Berkley courses, both current and archived, are now available as podcasts and webcasts. Courses cover a range of subjects, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer programming, engineering, psychology, legal studies and philosophy.

7. Utah State University (usu.edu)
►Free Utah State University Courses Online
Utah State University also provides access to free online courses. Study options include everything from anthropology to physics and theatre arts. These comprehensive text-based courses can be downloaded as zip files or viewed directly on the site.

8. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (kutztownsbdc.org)
►Free Kutztown University Courses Online
Kutztown University's Small Business Development Center offers the largest collection of free business courses available on the web. Course topics include accounting, finance, government, business law, marketing and sales. Comprehensive text, interactive case studies, slides, graphics and streaming audio help to demonstrate the concepts presented in each course.

9. University of Southern Queensland (usq.edu.au)
►Free USQ Courses Online
The University of Southern Queensland in Australia provides free online access to a number of different courses through yet another OpenCourseWare initiative. Courses from each of the five faculties are available, covering a broad range of topics, including communication, science, career planning, technology, teaching and multimedia creation.

10. University of California, Irvine (uci.edu)
►Free UC Irvine Courses Online
UC Irvine recently joined the OCW Consortium and began providing free university level courses online. Right now, there are only a handful of options to choose from, but this list is growing. Current courses cover topics like financial planning, human resources, capital markets and e-marketing. Course materials include syllabi, lecture notes, assignments and exams.