Take a peek at Ivy League learning for free

Developing an in-house learning library is one of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to promote ongoing employee education. If you don’t have the room or resources for a physical library, there are countless resources on the Web that promote learning and usually for free.

“Whether you'd like to learn algebra from a mathematician at MIT, watch how to make crawfish étouffée from an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America or study blues guitar with a professor at Berklee College of Music, you can do it all in front of your computer, courtesy of other people's money.” (TIME)

Making these lectures available to the public is part of a widespread movement among universities and learning institutions to open their once exclusive classrooms to the general public. New sites have been cropping up all across the web to deliver world-class learning to anyone who want’s a peek inside.

Take a look at these free online learning sources with information from some of the top colleges in the world:

YouTube Edu - YouTube’s central education hub dedicated to videos from more than 100 schools that have official channels on the site. Viewers can find videos from schools like the Grand Rapids Community College to Harvard.

Apple’s iTunes U - In a win-win situation for educators and Apple, users can find more than 170 schools offering free content through iTunes U.

Academic Earth - Smaller and more edited than YouTube’s videos, Academic Earth assembles playlists of related lectures on topics ranging from “Wars Throughout History” to algebra.

TED.com - A central broadcasting site for online lectures from some of the top innovators in the fields of technology, entertainment and design.


Whether you’re wanting to learn more about ancient Egypt, or looking to develop your own presentation skills by watching some of the best in the business, there’s a world of free online tools just waiting for you to get started.