These are 10 of the best free online learning sites I have come across on the net. The listing is in no particular order.
One of the best tutorial / learning resources I have come across. FindTutorials.com is a Web index and search engine that searches for tutorials and online courses on the web. It Features a huge categorized database ( 700 categories, about 4000 tutorials) FindTutorials.com allows you to search for free tutorials on practically any subject, ranging from photography to gardening to psychology. The site claims to guide you directly to written, certified tutorials carefully selected from all over the Web.
This site is for hard-core techies and IT professionals. The recently revamped site contains a number of free articles, tutorials and downloads. Much of the stuff here is in PDF format. So you will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view it. Some of the sections of the site need you to register (registration is free). Some of the categories covered in the site include C, C++,C# Win32, Java, VB, DCOM, Networking, Perl, XML,etc.
This is an award winning website in its category. A number of study guides in information technology are featured for free online viewing. The site claims that over 10 million people have accessed these guides in the past 5 years and over 350 leading universities and colleges around the world have used these guides. Hmmnn... tall claims...Find out for yourself if the site lives up to them.
As the name suggests, another site for tech geeks. Its yet another directory of free computer tutorials and whitepapers. The directory currently contains around 1700 free tutorials on subjects like computer hardware, databases, networking, UNIX, Linux, Programming, etc. This site comes from the makers of mcmcse.com which features resources to help people preparing for Microsoft's MCSE examination.
HowStuffWorks.com is an amazing, award-winning online destination for anyone who wants to know how anything works. If you have an inquisitive mind and are always looking for answers on how anything works the way it does, then this is the site for you. Categories include Computers & Internet, Engines & Automotive, Electronics & Telecom, Science & Technology, Aviation & Transport, Body & Health, Living & Entertainment, Around the House, Machines,etc. Aimless clicking around the site brought me to a page on how Lockpicking works! Well, I guess that could come in use someday...
Free-ed.net
Free-Ed is all about free education on the Internet. It's a simple as that--no tuition payments and no hidden charges. They have assembled links to the best course notes, outlines, tutorials, courses and e-texts on the net. Free-Ed provides an online, virtual university where users from around the world can study, take courses, and participate in community activities at no cost. Complete courses and tutorials are available for more than 120 different vocational and academic disciplines. The course catalog here is divided into the General course catalog and the Information Technology (IT) course catalog. You don't even have to sign up or register for a Free-Ed course.
Yet another tech related site featuring free tutorials on C, PHP, Delphi, Flash, DHTML, Javascript, Pascal, Perl. It also offers animations and cliparts if you are planning to build your own site. There is also a tips and tricks section on Javacript and HTML.
This site is unique in the sense that it offers free video-enhanced instructions on various topics ranging from pets to parenting, golf to gardening, health and medicine to beauty and fashion. They have a catalog of more than 250 instructional and educational websites on most of the topics under the sun and each contains several to dozens of pages of text and pictures - to which are added streaming video clips. If you have a broadband internet connection, you may enjoy the site better. My 56kbps modem just choked with one video clip.
The Creativity Portal helps you to explore various activities related to arts, crafts, music, and writing. The CP is a specialty directory of sites that have free instructional information (tips, tutorials, articles, projects, how-to's, etc) to help you learn about the topic that interests you the most. If you have the desire to learn photography, writing, fine arts, graphic design, music making, origami, balloon twisting, and a whole lot of other things, then this is the place for you to begin your learning adventure. I was particularly impressed by the section on music featuring lessons on guitar, flutes. drums, banjo,etc.
