Online resources for self-education. General education online courses

Today, when information has become more accessible than ever and acquiring new knowledge is easier than ever, we have another problem: how to focus and structure new knowledge if there are no external restrictions such as an exam or the need to prepare for a lesson?
And again we are saved by developers and the Internet, where more and more open universities, online courses, lectures and services for organizing your education are appearing.
I decided to collect in one place links to distance learning resources and other useful services in English and Russian, most of which are free. There was no goal to cover everything, but if you think that something needs to be added to the list, please write in the comments.

Online courses (MOOC):

Coursera– Perhaps the largest platform for video courses, they have recently made paid access to some courses. $/Free, Ru/Eng

Udacity– Specialized courses for developers and other technical specialists. There are paid and free courses. $/Free, Eng

EdX– Also a very large platform of video courses. The topics are broad: from “The science of everyday thinking” to technical disciplines. $/Free, Eng

MIT Open Courseware– The name speaks for itself. If you develop, design, install something, you will find a lot of useful information. There is a good course on technical entrepreneurship. Free, Eng

Khan Academy– Also a well-known platform with video lessons of an exclusively applied nature, which originally appeared to help with the school curriculum. Now the subject matter is much wider, including economics, art and much more. Free, Eng

Saylor– The project, founded by entrepreneur Michael Saylor, is similar to a full-fledged online college. Almost all general education subjects are covered, but many are labeled 101, which in the American system means entry level. Free Eng

Alison– Great service with free educational courses. Good programs for language learners. Free, Eng

University of the People– Large, serious and free online university. You can choose one of the specializations - Business Administration or Computer Science, each of which has courses that give you credits, by the end of the semester you must achieve a certain number of them - and other features of the liberal education system. Free, Eng

iTunes U– Apple’s iTunes University allows you to create and publish educational courses yourself, as well as take existing ones. $/Free, Eng

World Education University (WEU)– “Learning should be free” is the slogan of this online university. Offers full-time majors and degrees. There are still few courses; you can take a preparatory program for university (where you are taught to write essays, make project presentations, etc.), learn to write books, or become an associate professor of art. Free, Eng

Canvas Network– Many free courses on various intellectual topics. There is a course on Parenting in a Digital Age, an applied course on How to Find a Job Using Linkedin, and an aviation course for beginners. Free, Eng

FutureLearn– A British resource that brings together more than 40 universities offering free online courses. Free, Eng

Codeacademy.com- If you want to learn a programming language or make a website yourself, this is the place for you. Free, Eng

Academic Earth– Aggregator of free courses in many disciplines. Free, Eng

– Another large aggregator of lectures plus a large section with documentaries. Free, Eng

Udemy– Marketplace with many courses. $ , Ru/Eng

Openedu– The sensational “National Educational Platform”, which currently contains 40 university courses from leading universities. Free, Ru

Lectorium– Many courses for schoolchildren, students and professionals. The courses feature very high-quality visual content. Free, Ru

Eduson– Business lectures, courses and cases. For example, there is a course “How to overcome a secretary during cold calls.” Some courses are available in four languages. $/Free, Ru/Eng

Universarium– General education lectures and courses with free access. Free, Ru

Kadenze– International project for the study of art and creative disciplines. Free, Eng

Stepic– So far, most of the courses are for technical specialists, but the courses differ in their applied component. Free, Ru

Hexlet– Courses for developers for a not very expensive subscription. They promise a free trial. $ , Ru

Netology– Courses and training programs for Internet professions. All content is paid. $ , Ru

Coursemos– Aggregator of micro-courses on various topics. Free, Ru/Eng

Computer Science Center– The section with online courses will be very useful for technical specialists. And if you want to become a developer or analyst, then take their full-time courses. Free, Ru

Video lectures and lessons:

TED– Needs no introduction. The famous conference brings together professionals and simply interesting personalities from all over the world. Lectures are translated into many languages. Free, Ru/Eng

YouTube EDU– #Education on YouTube. Lectures, interviews and much more. Free, Ru/Eng

Do Lectures– Inspiring lectures from people who are trying to change something for the better. Free, Eng

Big Think– Short video lectures from professionals in various fields about interesting practices from their experience. Free, Eng

Fora.TV– Free videos from conferences around the world. There is a section with documentaries and series for subscription. $/Free, Eng

Google Talks– Google videos, lectures, conference streams. Free, Eng

RSA Animate– RSA animation on various topics. Free, Eng

Creative Live– Many lectures on creative disciplines. Life hack: if you sign up for lectures in advance, they are free, look at the calendar. Free, Eng

Mixergy– There are a lot of courses for startups and interviews with successful entrepreneurs. $/Free, Eng

The Floating University– Experts from various disciplines about interesting facts and world issues in video lecture format. Free, Eng

Reddit Lectures– Lectures thread on Reddit. Free, Eng

Video Lectures– A huge resource of video materials – from broadcasting conferences to interviews and lectures. Free, Eng

Lynda– Recently, a fully paid, but no less high-quality resource with video lessons for Internet specialists and more. $ , Eng

Tutsplus– Lessons and courses on digital topics. $/Free, Eng

Skillshare– Another resource with video materials for designers, photographers and other representatives of creative professions. $ , Eng

Postscience– An excellent popular science resource. We launched a section with courses, for now there is a fee. $/Free, Eng

Univertv– Educational portal with lectures on all possible disciplines. Free, Ru

VnimanieTV– Lectures from various resources are collected here. In the “Video Projects” section you can find countless links to educational resources in all areas. Free, Ru

Intuit– The National Open University is an extensive resource with very practical lectures. Many thanks to the people who created a truly useful and free service. Free, Ru

Services for tracking your progress and finding like-minded people:

Degreed– You choose what you want to learn (graphic design, for example) – set goals and get into your dashboard, where you see and add materials, create a training plan and track your progress. Free, Eng

Openbadges– If you have already grown up and you do not have enough “grades” for your studies and achievements, use Mazilla Open Badges. Free, Eng

Open Study– If you are studying something, then you can benefit from both experts to whom you can turn with a question, and like-minded people - you can find all this on this service. Also, you yourself can help someone with training. Free, Eng

Zero Tuition College– A simpler resource than Open Study, but with the same meaning - you can find like-minded people and unite to study or discuss a subject together. Free, Eng

Learnist– The service allows you to create your own “collections” of materials on various topics. An excellent source of new information. Free, Eng

MentorMob– Organize your playlists and study them in course format. You can also go through already created materials. Free, Eng

Cojourneo– A service for collaborative learning of something. Create a group, add participants, define a topic and your virtual class is ready! Suitable for online seminars. Free, Eng

Day Zero Project– There is a competitive aspect here. If you have a goal, announce it, find like-minded people and, if you are adventurous enough, it might work for you. It’s also very inspiring to look at other people’s goals, there’s a lot of interesting stuff! Free, Eng

Barter– Russian service exchange service: if you know something, but want to learn something new, offer to exchange lessons, there are probably people who want to gain knowledge in your field.

Mooc-list And courseon– Do you get lost in a large number of courses? Use an online course search engine. Free, Ru/Eng

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Everyone has their own plans for this summer. Someone is going to relax at the seaside, someone is going to garden or dacha, and someone is going to spend the summer at work. There can be many options for spending the summer, and it is very difficult to find time for everything at once. And yet, it never hurts to discover something new or learn something in this short period of time, long in a small life. Therefore, I present to you 7 free applications for self-education.

UNIVERSARIUM. Open e-education system.
The goal of this project is to provide the opportunity to receive quality education from top Russian teachers and the best universities for millions of Russian citizens. Education at the Universarium is based on the principle of passing successive modules of an educational course. The total duration of the study is from 7 to 10 weeks, depending on the complexity and intensity of the program. Each module consists of a video lecture, independent work, homework and a test.

THE MOST NECESSARY BOOK. 2000 incredible facts you didn't know.
An application for iOS and Android from the authors of the national bestseller, in which you can discover a variety of facts: funny, scary, strange, interesting, incredible and amazing. The whole range of facts in one application with unique illustrations.

DUOLINGO: Learn languages for free.
The best application for learning and improving a language. Among the many advantages of this program, it is worth noting the following:
FUN. Lives are lost if you answer incorrectly, but by learning small lessons you move forward. Colorful trophies mark the milestones of your progress.
And also, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. The authors of the application regularly conduct laboratory studies to show how successfully the studies are going, and at the same time, the learning process is improving over time.

LEARN TO DRAW.
This application will teach you how to draw step by step. And note, for this you do not need any special skills, since everything is presented here in an accessible and understandable way - in the form of slides.

NEURONATION. Brain training.
Find out your strengths, unlock your potential and improve your brain function with this application. With over nine million satisfied users and numerous awards to date, NeuroNation is the most successful brain training program in Europe, and with over 60 personalized and scientifically proven exercises, the most comprehensive and versatile program in the world.

WORD OF THE DAY. Explanatory dictionary.
There are many words that we hear all the time, but we don’t know their meanings. For example, "emancipation" or "altruism". With this application you can find out the exact meanings of Russian words. Every day, the authors of the application select the most relevant words and terms of the Russian language, the meaning of which many do not know, then they study their definitions in explanatory dictionaries, Wikipedia and other authoritative sources, and then this information is adapted into brief definitions for ease of understanding.

PHOTOGRAPHY LESSONS.
This application describes the basics and tips on photography, creating a composition, technical aspects of the camera and interesting shooting techniques with visual examples. By following the tips and recommendations, you can quickly learn how to create real masterpieces.