Lifelong learning is all about continuously growing and acquiring new knowledge and skills. It’s for those who are eager to improve themselves and the world.
This article will explore a treasure trove of educational websites tailored for lifelong learners. Whether you’re eager to expand your expertise, explore new passions, or take your career to new heights, these websites are your ticket to a world of learning opportunities.
Whether you’re into art, science, or anything in between, these sites have something for you. Let’s dive in!
Top 19 Educational Websites For Lifelong Learners
Educational websites can range from free course sites, guides and tutorials to subscription-based content or just a collection of notes and documents.
No matter if you’re a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner, one of these 19 informative websites is suitable for you —
1. Coursera
Founded: 2012 by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from top universities and industry leaders.
Cost: Depends on whether you want to earn a certificate or degree, and the institution offering the course.
Coursera offers a wide range of courses on diverse subjects, leading to various certificates or degrees, making it an excellent choice for anyone seeking to advance their knowledge and skills.
It gathers its learning resources from the leading universities and institutions in the world, helping students gain new skills, advance their careers, and explore interests.
You can study just about any topic on this, ranging from the basics to advanced levels in computer science, health, humanities, business, and more.
It offers access to high-quality lectures, videos, books, and more anytime and anywhere you go. You are free to learn at your own pace with negotiable deadlines and personalized feedback.
Coursera also provides students with quizzes, peer reviews, assignments, and discussion forums to ensure you’re actively learning the material you’re studying.
Coursera offers a range of courses and programs from top universities and industry leaders. Some of the programs that have Free online courses for college credit values include:
- Master of Computer Science in Data Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Master of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
2. Skillshare
Founded: 2010 by Michael Karnjanaprakorn.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Creative professionals who want to learn new skills and techniques.
Cost: Offers a 14-day free trial. After that, membership pricing starts at $32 per month or $168 annually ($13.99 per month).
If you’re more of a creative learner, you will enjoy Skillshare. It is a learning platform with over a thousand classes on various topics such as illustration, photography, video, freelancing, design, and more.
On the platform, you might even see classes from your favorite content creators on YouTube sharing their success secrets. Not only can you create your own projects from these classes, you can share them with other learners.
It is the best place to connect and learn from experts and peers while expressing your creativity. You can watch video lessons, practice your skills with exercises, and receive constructive feedback from instructors and classmates.
Plus, you can elevate your learning experience by joining workshops and live lessons and engaging in fun challenges with learners and teachers.
3. Khan Academy
Founded: 2008 by Sal Khan.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students of all ages who want to learn at their own pace.
Cost: Free of cost.
For simplified learning of tough subjects, Khan Academy is an excellent choice. You can learn a variety of subjects, including math, science, history, grammar, and more using Khan Academy’s beginner-friendly resources.
This platform holds a vast collection of videos, articles, and exercises for every type of learner. You can also put your knowledge to the test with quizzes, unit tests, and challenges.
Khan Academy is one of the few online learning platforms that truly support personalized learning. Even teachers are offered tools to customize instructions and monitor student performance.
You are in complete control of the pace of your progress and filling in gaps in your understanding. Plus, you can track your goals and achievements with regular reports and dashboard updates.
4. edX
Founded: 2012 by Harvard University and MIT.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from top universities and industry leaders.
Cost: Most edX courses are available to audit for free, but certificates require a fee. Individual courses, Professional Certificate Programs, Professional Education, MicroMasters and XSeries cost varying amounts.
edX is another online learning platform partnered with top universities and organizations to offer students a more accessible option to advanced courses and programs.
Not only do you get a number of different subjects to choose from, but you can learn from the best instructors in the world and interact with them freely. Whether you want to pursue a degree that employer likes, a certificate or just pick up a new skill, edX provides the best-curated resources for it.
Among edX’s vast collection of learner’s resources, you can access engaging video lectures, peer-to-peer discussions, exercises and quizzes, and more. For an enhanced learning experience for all learner types, the platform also offers subtitles, transcripts of videos, progress tracking, and rewards for achievements.
Unlike regular unit tests and exams, edX offers challenges which push students to apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios.
edX offers a range of courses and programs from top universities and industry leaders. Some of the programs that have credit values include:
- Master of Science in Supply Chain Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Master of Science in Analytics from Georgia Institute of Technology.
- Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin.
5. Sparknotes
Founded: 1999 by Harvard students Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, Chris Coyne, and Eli Bolotin.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn literature, history, and science.
Cost: Offers a 7-day free trial. After that, membership pricing starts at $4.99 per month or $24.99 annually.
For students who enjoy reading and research, Sparknotes is a must-have resource. It provides users with study guides for a number of subjects, including poetry, history, philosophy, literature, and film.
Although it is primarily used for literature and art, Sparknotes also offers resources for other subjects such as math, science, psychology, sociology, and more.
If you’re already doing courses elsewhere, Sparknotes helps to deepen your understanding by assisting you with homework, essays, and exams.
With the platform’s ‘No Fear Literature’, you can access the original text of classical works with their modern translations to make studying enjoyable and easier.
It also gives you many interactive quizzes, flashcards, essay topics, and sample essays to test and broaden your skills.
6. Course Hero
Founded: 2006 by Andrew Grauer.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to access study materials and get help from online tutors.
Cost: Offers a Basic (free) Membership as well as a paid Premier Membership. Premier membership costs range from $9.95 to $59.85.
To expand your understanding of any subject, Course Hero provides millions of study resources for students of every level. It provides tutoring and courses for beginners and study materials for ongoing learners.
The courses and programs are based around various subjects with adjustable levels of difficulty for all students.
With Course Hero, you can access millions of notes, test prep materials, and documents on almost any subject. You can even find solutions and explanations to questions from your textbook or previous exams from experts and peers.
The most unique aspect of Course Hero is its interactiveness. It allows you to upload your own documents to get personalized help from tutors worldwide and earn rewards from it, unlocking premium content.
7. MIT OpenCourseWare
Founded: 2001 by MIT.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from MIT’s course materials for free.
Cost: Free of cost.
Offering materials from over 2,500 MIT courses, MIT OpenCourseWare is the ultimate online learning platform to share knowledge with educators and learners all around the world.
You can find resources for just about any degree, certificate, or topic of interest from notes, exams, lectures, and videos. It also includes challenges, tests, exams to strengthen your knowledge, transcripts, progress tracking, and subtitles to assist your learning.
This platform delivers high-quality educational resources online, which are easy to access anytime. It allows students to learn from the best instructors from leading institutions seamlessly.
8. Codecademy
Founded: 2011 by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn coding and programming skills.
Cost: Professional Certificate program costs range from $39-$99 USD per month. MasterTrack Certificate program costs typically range from $2,000-$5,000.
Have a knack for coding? Codecademy is the best online learning platform that teaches learners to code in various languages using different technologies.
Whether you want to start a career in coding, advance in your current one, or explore a new hobby, this site has study materials for learners of every skill level.
You can access their collection of interactive lessons, quizzes, projects, and other resources to expand your learning. Its hands-on learning environment lets you write real code in seconds while also receiving feedback along the way.
As you study, your progress is tracked on your dashboard with regular reports and achievements to motivate you.
Codecademy also offers tools for teachers to customize instruction and monitor student performance.
9. Crash Course
Founded: 2011 by Hank and John Green.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn about a variety of subjects in a fun and engaging way.
Cost: Free of cost.
Although it is not its own independent website, the Crash Course channel on YouTube has been a highly influential educational channel for learners for many years.
The channel actively produces engaging videos on various subjects, such as literature, history, science, philosophy, and more, with witty hosts and animations. It makes learning free and fun for everyone with weekly videos with over 45 complete courses in their library.
Whether you need help with homework, exams, or enlightenment on a tough topic, you can discover their wide range of short videos which simplify big concepts.
Crash Course also offers resources for educators to use in their classrooms.
10. Guides.co
Founded: 2011 by Scott Annan.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn about a variety of topics, including business, marketing, and technology.
Cost: Free of cost.
Unlike the other sites on this list, Guides.co takes a different approach to teaching avid learners by offering interactive guides on just about any subject.
You can share, create, and browse thousands of step-by-step guides on various topics, such as business, travel, health, and more.
Guides.co’s easy-to-use editor and tools features allow you to make your own guides and share them with other learners. This way, you can connect with experts and enthusiasts of the same interest to exchange knowledge.
You can follow guides that pique your interest and get updates on them while also receiving comments, ratings, and feedback on your own guides.
11. LinkedIn Learning
Founded: 2015 by LinkedIn.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from industry experts and professionals.
Cost: Depends on whether you want to earn a certificate or degree and the institution offering the course. A monthly subscription costs $39.99, while an annual plan costs $323.88.
For courses based on business, health, computer science, humanities, or the like, LinkedIn Learning is an excellent option to access the most valuable studying resources.
It works with leading universities and organizations to bring learners thousands of courses in various fields and levels of difficulty. The instructors are highly qualified and interact with learners by giving them personalized feedback.
Moreover, you have complete control over the pace of your studies, with flexible deadlines and personalized quizzes and assignments for your skill level.
To enhance your learning experience, LinkedIn Learning also offers users access to peer reviews and discussion forums to connect students all over the globe.
12. FutureLearn
Founded: 2012 by The Open University.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from top universities and industry leaders.
Cost: Longer programs can cost anywhere from $39 a month to about $1000 for a certificate.
For high-quality educational video lectures, FutureLearn is a great choice. It partners with top universities and institutions to offer full-length courses in various subjects.
Alongside video lectures, FutureLearn also includes interactive exercises and peer discussions to get students working together. It offers other features, such as transcripts, subtitles and progress tracking, to enhance the learning experience.
This platform allows learners to interact with the best instructors and educators and inquire about their queries, ask for feedback, or seek advice.
13. Stanford Online
Founded: 2012 by Stanford University.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from Stanford’s course materials for free.
Cost: Free of cost.
For a more affordable option to Stanford’s vast collection of learning resources, Stanford Online allows learners to pick up new skills at a minimum cost.
You can learn from Stanford instructors and industry experts and choose from a variety of free online courses credit-bearing programs, and degrees at Stanford Online.
It brings users high-quality learning materials from over 2,500 courses by working alongside MIT OpenCourseWare and edX, which partner with Stanford University.
Other than study resources, this platform also allows users access to business tools to scale skill development and innovation.
14. Udacity
Founded: 2011 by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn coding and programming skills.
Cost: Professional Certificate program costs range from $39-$99 USD per month. MasterTrack Certificate program costs typically range from $2,000-$5,000.
The go-to spot for learning how to code is Udacity. Here, you get to learn through engaging quizzes, lessons, and projects.
Whether you’re aiming to reach a new level in your career, build a new one, or just simply pick up a new hobby, Udacity has courses suited for your specific skill level.
At Udacity, you learn actively by receiving feedback and advice on improvements as you study. It’s a hands-on learning environment which lets you write real code swiftly.
You can track your progress and accomplishments on your dashboard alongside regular reports. If you’re a teacher, Udacity even has tools that allow you to tailor your lessons and keep an eye on how well your students are doing.
Moreover, Udacity has partnered up with the world’s leading tech companies to create Nanodegree programs. These programs give you the exact skills and credentials that are highly demanded in the tech industry.
Udacity offers various courses and programs designed to help you learn coding and programming skills. Some of the programs that have credit values include:
- Master of Science in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology.
- Master of Science in Data Science from Georgia Institute of Technology.
- Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Georgia Institute of Technology.
15. Alison
Founded: 2007 by Mike Feerick.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn new skills and advance their careers.
Cost: Alison offers a range of courses that are completely free to audit. Premium Monthly is an optional, affordable monthly subscription that unlocks additional features and benefits on Alison. Premium Monthly costs €7.99 per month or €79.00 per year.
Alison is your ticket to a treasure trove of free online courses spanning a vast array of subjects. It’s your gateway to discovering thousands of courses in categories like business, health, language, engineering, teaching, and much more. It also gives you the option to create your own projects and share them with learners to exchange knowledge, advice, and feedback.
On this platform, you get the chance to connect with experts and enthusiasts who love to share their wisdom and passion. You can dive into courses that pique your interest and earn certificates or diplomas when you finish them.
Feel free to engage with other users by leaving comments, giving ratings, and offering your thoughts. And if you’re a teacher, Alison provides valuable resources for you to use in your classrooms.
16. OpenLearn
Founded: 2006 by The Open University.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from free, open educational resources.
Cost: All of OpenLearn’s course materials are free and open to the public.
Brought to you by The Open University, OpenLearn is a doorway to free learning. With OpenLearn, you get access to over 1,000 courses spanning various subject areas, from art history to science.
Whether you’re aiming to level up your study skills, boost your career, or simply explore your passions, OpenLearn has got something tailor-made for you.
The best part? You can dive into learning at your own pace, with zero stress about deadlines or hidden fees. As you progress, you can even collect digital badges and statements to show off your newfound knowledge.
OpenLearn also connects educators with handy resources for their classrooms. Plus, you can join edX, a fantastic global online learning platform that teams up with The Open University and other top institutions.
17. Harvard Online
Founded: 2012 by Harvard University.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from Harvard’s course materials for free.
Cost: Includes free and paid courses.
Imagine learning from the very best instructors and institutions, all from the comfort of your home. Harvard Online is your passport to a world of learning right from your computer.
It’s a place where you can take courses and programs from Harvard University on topics that matter most to our world.
Whether you’re aiming for a degree, a certificate, or just satisfying your curiosity, Harvard Online has something for you and your specific skill level.
Here, you can browse from a vast collection of engaging video lessons, interactive activities, chats with fellow learners, and more. Plus, you can put your newfound knowledge to the test in real-life situations.
Harvard Online even offers handy features like transcripts, subtitles, progress tracking, and certificates to make your learning experience seamless.
18. Saylor Academy
Founded: 2008 by Michael Saylor.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn from free, open educational resources.
Cost: All of Saylor Academy’s course materials are free and open to the public.
Saylor Academy is a friendly neighborhood of online learning. It’s a nonprofit that’s all about spreading knowledge, and it’s open to anyone who wants to learn.
Picture this: you get to pick from nearly 100 full-length courses crafted by experts that match college and professional standards. Plus, you can use your learning to earn credits for a degree or supercharge your career with Saylor Academy.
Moreover, Saylor Academy is all about personalizing your learning journey. You can go at your own speed, close knowledge gaps, and make speedy progress. There are dashboards and reports to help you keep an eye on your goals and accomplishments.
This platform also teams up with leading universities and organizations to offer courses that you can transfer and use in your academic journey.
19. Udemy
Founded: 2010 by Eren Bali, Oktay Caglar, and Gagan Biyani.
Course type: Academic and Professional.
Platform type: Website and mobile app.
Best for: Students who want to learn new skills and advance their careers.
Cost: Depends on whether you want to earn a certificate or degree, and the institution offering the course. Prices range from $9.99 to $199.99.
With a whopping 213,000+ courses and 62 million eager students, Udemy is the most bustling online learning hub. It’s a treasure trove of information and study resources for subjects like programming, marketing, and data science.
So, whether you’re chasing a new career, levelling up in your current one, or just exploring your interests, Udemy has a course with personalized resources for every type of learner. .
At Udemy, you learn straight from the experts and fellow learners. You can kick back and watch video lessons and hands-on exercises and get feedback from instructors and classmates.
Users can also join live sessions, workshops, and exciting challenges to chat with others in real time.
This platform is a game-changer for businesses and organizations too, offering tools to help them boost skills and drive innovation.
How to Choose the Right Platform or Course for Online Learning
Now that you’ve gone through all your available options, choosing the right platform or course for your personal online learning can be a daunting task.
Here are some factors to consider —
Ease of Use (Accessibility and User interface)
Design teams define specific metrics per project and aim to optimize ease of use while offering maximum functionality and respecting business limitations.
An example of this is, “Users must be able to tap Find within 3 seconds of accessing the interface.”
Affordability
Your learning experience, whether online or offline, is a lifetime investment which requires careful financial planning. Different platforms offer courses at a range of prices, from high to low, with some offering special discounts.
Some of the best learning sites with reasonable prices include Coursera, Skillshare, Udemy, and Edx.
Customization Options
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to learning, so customization options are critical. These options allow you to tailor your learning experience with your own needs.
For instance, some platforms allow you to control the pace of your learning, while others may offer personalized feedback and advice on your progress.
Support
Even in online learning platforms, you cannot be completely on your own. Support is an important factor because you might come across issues unexpectedly that you don’t have the facilities to fix. So, you’ll need a platform that offers 24/7 support so you can study stress-free.
Credibility of the Course
The course’s reliability is crucial since it guarantees that you are receiving your education from a reliable source. Seek out courses provided by colleges or other recognized establishments.
Conclusion
As we conclude our exploration of educational websites for lifelong learners, it’s clear that the digital world has opened up a universe of possibilities for personal growth and knowledge acquisition.
These platforms empower you to learn at your own pace, on your own terms, and on subjects that truly matter to you. read more about questions to ask before joining an online program
