Five websites for the DIY learner

The internet is an amazing resource for leaners and autodidacts the world over. Whether you want to find out what makes the universe tick, how to use social media, or just how to crochet a hat, someone somewhere on the internet can teach you. We take a look at five sites that can guide you through the complexities of a whole host of subjects. Khan Academy The Khan Academyis not-for-profit organisation that provides free educational materials covering a variety of subjects, mainly maths and science. It has over 2,600 videos, each about ten minutes long, and a series of exercises that you can do to put your newly gained knowledge into practice. The site also tracks your activity and gives you stats on what you’re learning and whether you are hitting your goals. And, if you need a bit of an incentive, you can earn badges as you complete various learning tasks. [caption id=“attachment_129395” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The Khan Academy. Image courtesy The Khan Academy”]  [/caption] Level: Beginner upwards Cost: Free MIT Open Courseware The Massachusetts Institute of Technology began sharing its free courses via its OpenCourseware project in April 2001. There are now over 2,000 courses to choose from, including computer science, maths, humanities and science courses. The site provides materials and assignments for courses that are actually taught at MIT, including some videos, but doesn’t necessarily provide everything that their students would get. For enthusiastic and self-directed students, it’s a goldemine. Level: Undergraduate and Graduate Cost: Free Grovo Grovo is a relative newcomer to the online learning space, but it fills an important niche: Explaining the internet itself. Grovo provides Courses that explain specific websites and tools like Amazon or the Chrome browser. Courses are then arranged into Subjects such as social media, productivity or shopping, and Tracks such as Find a Job Online or Grow Your Business with Social Media. Users can learn on their own or in a team with colleagues, friends and family. Businesses can customise their own Tracks and access a dashboard which track everyone’s progress. With over 1000 short videos, quizzes, certificates available, and new lessons being added every month, Grovo is one to watch. Level: Beginner Cost: Free or Premium ($9 per month, $99 annually) Instructables Instructables has a more creative and practical bent than the other sites, helping people to learn how to make, do and cook things. Step by step instructions are given via photos and text, available either online or in a downloadable PDF. Instructions are created by the website’s members, so quality can vary, but there are a lot of useful and interesting suggestions to be found if you’re willing to dig. Level: Beginner upwards Cost: Free Open University The UK’s Open University is provides academic courses via its Learning Space programme, covering a very wide variety of subjects from Business and Management to Health and Social Care to Law. Each course takes between one and 50 hours of study and provides activities with sample answers so you can test your progress. The site teaches through games, videos, blogs, podcasts as well as tradiational printed materials. As with MIT’s OpenCourseware, you do need to have good self-motivation to get the best out of the site, but there’s a lot to get your teeth into. Level: Introductory to advanced Cost: Free YouTube: Honourable mention It’s surprising sometimes just how much you can learn from YouTube, particularly when it comes to crafting and practical arts. YouTube is my first port of call when I’m looking for explanations of, say, a new crochet stitch or bookbinding technique. You do have to know what you’re looking for, but there are some very helpful videos in amongst all the cat movies and music videos.