Feed Your Mind For Free Online

Centuries ago, being a Renaissance man was a pursuit preserved solely for the well to-do. It was only the upper-classes who could afford private tutors and expensive books. Today, happily, the spread of technology has placed the goal of being a true polymath within any person’s reach. A citizen of the modern age can spend a lifetime educating himself on everything from philosophy and religion to cooking and music, all without ever spending a dime. In fact, Bill Gates recently predicted that in five years, people will be able to get a better college education online for free than at a traditional university. If you desire to enrich your mind without ever opening your wallet, here are some avenues to pursue.

Free University Podcasts and Videos
Many colleges and universities have started to put out free podcasts and videos of their professors’ lectures and classes. You get to listen in on some of the best professors in the world, and you don’t have to do any homework or write a single term paper!

Podcasts
University and College Podcasts: Free Educational Podcasts
(@openculture)

Skip the Tuition: 100 Free Podcasts From the Worlds Best Colleges
(@The Online Education Database)

iTunes U:
170 Colleges offer free lectures for you to download and listen to on the go right from the iTunes store.

Videos
YouTube Edu Academic Earth Lecture Fox Open Yale Courses

Brett McKay

Founded in January 2008, The Art of Manliness is a blog focused on reviving the lost art of manliness. With over 7 million monthly page views, The Art of Manliness represents a new kind of magazine for men, one that focuses on helping men become better citizens, fathers, husbands, friends, and simply all around better men. Husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay head up the blog. They live in Tulsa, OK.

http://profile.typepad.com/palmerdavid David Palmer

Who can forget GoogleTalks?
http://profile.typepad.com/johntrin John Trin

I would like to add Khan Academy (khanacademy.org) to the list. It’s like having your own private tutor who will go through concepts and work out exercise problems with you. Here’s a bit of background (it’s a bit long but worth it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTXKCzrFh3c
http://profile.typepad.com/askowlfred AskOwlfred

I like it Brett, but you missed a big one which is the MIT OpenCourseWare Program. They have over 2000 classes online to study. Also, they just partnered with a startup out of Atlanta called OpenStudy. I can connect with others studying the same thing on that site.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-fall-2008/join-a-study-group/
http://profile.typepad.com/stevechurchill Steve Churchill

Brett,

You’re hitting on themes that I think will mushroom as people realize they must be autodidacts to survive in this economy. It’s the theme of my own fledgling site, and readers here might appreciate some of the content there. Thanks for all your work.

http://www.betterlearningbetterearning.com/posts/learning-tools/105-think-for-yourself.html

http://www.betterlearningbetterearning.com/posts/learning-tools/74-autodidact.html
http://www.brosix.com/ Brosix

I didn’t know there were so many podcasts.
http://www.facebook.com/RoxSpace Roxann Souci

Education makes for a better world. No one should be denied because of financial restraints.

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