Lessons from institutions for self-study. Open Culture - the largest cultural and educational portal

It's never too late to educate yourself. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to return to a university for this - you only need curiosity and access to the Internet. For everyone who wants to learn something new, we decided to compile a list of the best sites for self-development.

Among the many resources, we preferred Russian-language sites with free materials that offer real knowledge (and not just diplomas and certificates).

So, 12 best sites for self-development.

PostScience

For whom:for people who are ready to learn complex knowledge

Format:popular science project, video courses

Language: Russian

"PostNauka" talks about modern fundamental science, shifting the focus from applied areas, highlights current theories, ideas, concepts in the natural, technical and humanitarian fields of knowledge.

Site Image PostNauka

The project gives scientists possibility talk about your research in the first person and show the results of many years of work. All PostNauka speakers are experts in their scientific discipline.

The creators of the project clearly formulate the format of "PostScience" - a university lecture for not specialists, but people who are ready to assimilate complex knowledge.

What to read/see: At the end of July, NASA scientists very similar to the Earth exoplanet. If you don't know what an exoplanet is, check out the Exoplanets course or read about how "second Earths" are found.

Arzamas
For whom:for high school students, students and adults who knew but forgot
Format:"humanitarian series"
Language: Russian

The objective of the Arzamas project is to bring together outstanding Russian humanitarians and create a "golden fund of the national humanitarian science about culture and man."

Week of Myths at Arzamas
The creators of the project call their video courses "humanitarian serials" - each lecture and each course is a separate complex work - a series. The length of one lecture is about 15 minutes. Each course is supplemented with editorial materials (articles, interviews, columns, illustrations).

Things to do:

Watch a humanitarian series about the history of dandyism, created in an almost lifestyle format.
Try to understand Japan
Play the game "How to change the light bulb in the toilet of a communal apartment"

N+1
For whom: for young people
Format: popular science project
Language: Russian

The publication positions itself as a “gloss about science”, which presents scientific news in an unconventional way, adapting content for social networks.

Each material on the site has an indication of the complexity of its perception (the easiest - 1, the most difficult - 10). The editors do not pretend to create a universal scale within which it would be possible to compare materials from different fields of knowledge. Complexity is some estimate of the intellectual effort that the author needed to write the note. In the opinion of the editors, these efforts are proportional to the efforts that the reader will need to read and understand the article.

What to read:

Difficulty: 2.1. The Japanese installed a seismic counterweight in the skyscraper
Difficulty: 4.1. Astronomers see aurora outside the solar system for the first time
Difficulty: 8.8. The lovely baryon has fallen apart!

TheQuestion
For whom: for the curious
Format: question answer
Language: Russian

On The Question, anyone can ask about anything. The project cannot provide answers to all the questions in the world, but honestly tries to do it. The creators of the site strive to maintain interest in self-education and encourage critical thinking.

Image of TheQuestion website

What to read:

How much water does it take to put out the sun?
Why does time fly by so fast for so many people?
Batman v Superman is coming out soon, why did they fight?
Why sew patches on the elbows of jackets?
When is it better to make important decisions - in the morning or in the evening?

Lectorium
For whom: for pupils and students
Format: video courses
Language: Russian

Lectorium is an educational project that develops two main areas: an archive of video lectures and MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) - video courses.

Trailer for the course Engineering

The archive contains more than 3,000 video lectures, but not all of them are recorded in a quality that allows them to withstand several academic hours.

Things to do:

Learn how cryptocurrencies affect the economy?
Start preparing for the exam in mathematics in the fall
Sign up for a video course on probability theory

TeachVideo
For whom: for computer users
Format: video courses
Language: Russian

TeachVideo is a service of educational video on IT topics. Courses will be useful for both beginners and advanced users. TeachVideo is ideal for getting to know a new program.

What to watch:

Fundamentals of AutoCAD 2010
Basics of Photoshop CS4

Elements
For whom: for all
Format: popular science project
Language: Russian

A whole section on the site is dedicated to CERN research

"Elements" is the simplest non-fiction resource in our selection, outdated design and abandoned "Video Library" can scare off new users.

What to read: However, the site has a number of advantages. For example, the project aggregates all information related to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). One of the collections is devoted to inaccuracies in media reports about the LHC.

Another interesting section is "Children's Questions", the answers in which can surprise even adults.

Coursera
For whom: for all
Format: video courses
Language:

A group of professors at Stanford University launched an online mass education platform that has become a benchmark. Today Coursera is more than a thousand courses and 14.3 million listeners.

Rock History Course at Coursera

Most of the courses require knowledge of English, Russian subtitles are available only for some of them.

Most of the materials are freely available, however, it is possible to take the course for a fee and receive a certificate of completion.

What to study right now:

Courses in Russian
Digital Marketing
Introduction to Physical Chemistry
rock history

Where to sign up:

Principles of macroeconomics
Data analysis and statistical inference
Introduction to Finance

TED talks
For whom: for all
Format: video lectures
Language: English, russian subtitles

You won't learn Economics and Finance at TED Talks, but it's an indispensable site for those who want to get into self-development. Here you can find monologues of scientists, writers, actors and politicians. Speeches on popular science topics will spur interest in learning, and motivating ones will add self-confidence.

Proficiency in English is desirable, but not required. Thousands of enthusiasts translate TED Talks into dozens of languages. Russian subtitles are available for almost all popular monologues.

What to watch:

Today, when information has become more accessible than ever and getting new knowledge is easier than ever, we have another problem: how to focus and structure new knowledge if there are no external restrictions like an exam or the need to prepare for a lesson?
And again, developers and the Internet save us, where there are more and more open universities, online courses, lectures and services for organizing your own learning.
I decided to collect in one place links to distance learning resources and other useful services in English and Russian, most of which are free. There was no goal to cover everything, but if you think that something needs to be added to the list - please write in the comments.

Online courses (MOOCs):

Coursera– Perhaps the largest platform for video courses, since recently they have made paid access to some courses. $/Free, Ru/Eng

Udacity– Specialized courses for developers and other technical specialists. There are paid and free courses. $/Free, Eng

EdX– Also a very large video course platform. The topics are extensive: from "The science of everyday thinking" to technical disciplines. $/Free, Eng

MIT Open Courseware- The name speaks for itself. If you are developing, designing, assembling something, then you will find a lot of useful information. There is a good course on technical entrepreneurship. Free, Eng

Khan Academy- Also a well-known platform with video lessons of an exclusively applied nature, which originally appeared to help with the school curriculum. Now the subjects of subjects are much wider, including economics, art and much more. Free, Eng

Saylor– The project, founded by entrepreneur Michael Saylor, is like a full-fledged online college. Almost all general education subjects are collected, but many are marked 101, which in the American system means the initial level. Free Eng

Alison– Great service with free educational courses. Good programs for language learners. Free, Eng

University of the People– Large, serious and free online university. You can choose one of the specializations - Business Administration or Computer Science, each has courses that give you credit, by the end of the semester you must score a certain number of them - and other features of the liberal education system. Free, Eng

iTunes U- Apple's iTunes University allows you to create and publish educational courses on your own, as well as take existing ones. $/Free, Eng

World Education University (WEU)“Learning should be free” is the slogan of this online university. Offers full-fledged specialties and degrees. There are few courses yet, you can take a preparatory program for the university (where you are taught to write essays, make project presentations, etc.), learn to write books or get an assistant professor of arts. Free, Eng

Canvas Network- Many free courses on various near-intellectual topics. There is a course "Paranting in a digital age", an applied course "How to find a job with Linkedin" and an aviation course for beginners. Free, Eng

FutureLearn- A British resource that unites more than 40 universities offering free online courses. Free, Eng

codeacademy.com- If you want to learn some programming language or make a website yourself - you are here. Free, Eng

Academic Earth– Aggregator of free courses in many disciplines. Free, Eng

– Another major lecture aggregator plus a large documentary section. Free, Eng

Udemy– Marketplace with many courses. $ , Ru/Eng

openedu- The sensational "National Educational Platform" which currently contains 40 courses of the university program from leading universities. Free, Ru

Lectorium- Many courses for schoolchildren, students and professionals. The courses are distinguished by very high quality visual content. Free, Ru

eduson– Business lectures, courses and cases. For example, there is a course "How to overcome a secretary during cold calls." Some courses are available in four languages. $/Free, Ru/Eng

Universarium– General education lectures and courses with free access. Free, Ru

Kadenze– International project for the study of art and creative disciplines. Free, Eng

Stepic– So far, most of the courses are for technical specialists, but the courses differ in their applied component. Free, Ru

Hexlet– Developer courses for a not very expensive subscription. They promise a free trial. $ , Ru

Netology– Courses and training programs for Internet professions. All content is paid. $ , Ru

coursemos– Aggregator of micro-courses on various topics. Free, Ru/Eng

Computer Science Center– The section with online courses will be very useful for technical specialists. And if you want to become a developer or an analyst, then you should take their full-time courses. Free, Ru

Video lectures and lessons:

TED- Needs no introduction. The famous conference brings together professionals and just interesting personalities from all over the world. Lectures are translated into many languages. Free, Ru/Eng

YouTube EDU– #Education on YouTube. Lectures, interviews and more. Free, Ru/Eng

Do lectures– Inspiring lectures from people who are trying to change something for the better. Free, Eng

big think– Short video lectures from professionals from different fields about interesting practices from their experience. Free, Eng

Fora TV- Free videos from conferences around the world. There is a section with documentaries and series for a subscription. $/Free, Eng

Google Talks– Google videos, lectures, conference streams. Free, Eng

RSA Animate– RSA animation on various topics. Free, Eng

creative live– Lots of lectures on creative disciplines. Life hack: if you sign up for lectures in advance, they are free, see the calendar. Free, Eng

Mixergy– A lot of courses for startups and interviews with successful entrepreneurs. $/Free, Eng

The Floating University– Experts from various disciplines about interesting facts and world issues in the format of video lectures. Free, Eng

Reddit lectures- Lectures thread on Reddit. Free, Eng

Video lectures– A huge resource of video materials – from conference broadcasts to interviews and lectures. Free, Eng

Lynda- Recently, a completely paid, but no less high-quality resource with video lessons for Internet specialists and not only. $ , Eng

Tuts plus- Lessons and courses on "digital" topics. $/Free, Eng

Skillshare- Another resource with video materials for designers, photographers and other representatives of creative professions. $ , Eng

postnauka- An excellent non-fiction resource. We launched a section with courses, while for a fee. $/Free, Eng

Univertv– An educational portal with lectures on all possible disciplines. Free, Ru

VnimanieTV– Lectures from various resources are collected here. In the Video Projects section, you can find countless links to educational resources in all areas. Free, Ru

Intuit– The National Open University is an extensive resource with very practical lectures. Many thanks to the people who created a truly useful and free service. Free, Ru

Services for tracking your progress and finding like-minded people:

Degreed- You choose what you want to learn (graphic design, for example) - set goals and get into your dashboard, where you see and add materials, draw up a training plan and track progress. Free, Eng

open badges– If you have already grown up and you do not have enough “grades” for your learning and achievements, use Mazilla Open Badges. Free, Eng

open study– If you are studying something, then both experts who you can turn to with a question and like-minded people can be useful to you - you can find all this on this service. Also, you yourself can help someone with training. Free, Eng

Zero Tuition College- A simpler resource than Open Study, but with the same meaning - you can find like-minded people and come together to study or discuss a subject together. Free, Eng

Learnist- The service allows you to create your own "collections" of materials on various topics. An excellent source of new information. Free, Eng

MentorMob- Organize your playlists and study them in a course format. Also, you can go through already created materials. Free, Eng

Cojourneo– Service for collaborative study of something. Create a group, add participants, define a topic and the virtual class is ready! Suitable for online seminars. Free, Eng

Day Zero Project“There is a competitive aspect here. If you have a goal - announce it, find like-minded people and, if you are passionate enough, it can work for you. Also, it is very inspiring to look at other people's goals, there is a lot of interesting things! Free, Eng

barter- Russian exchange service: if you know something, but want to learn something new - offer to exchange lessons, there are probably people who want to gain knowledge in your field.

Mooc-list and courseon– Are you lost in a large number of courses? Use the search engine for online courses. Free, Ru/Eng

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self-study
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We live in an amazing age. Never before in history has it been so easy to learn on your own. The idea of self-education is becoming more and more widespread and popular, and the need for it is becoming more and more urgent.

When every minute counts, the benefits of online learning are especially noticeable. We have selected 16 free resources for self-education in Russian, where you will find courses, lectures and master classes from any field of knowledge. Plan your schedule, and remember: "Any real education is obtained only through self-education" - N. Rubakin.

Academy Arzamas

The non-profit educational project Arzamas is focused on the humanities and offers courses in history, literature, art, anthropology, and philosophy. Here you can listen and read lectures prepared by scientists at any time on a topic of interest to you. All courses are free. Visit Arzamas and learn about the most interesting things in the world.

Arthive

Here you can learn about the latest news from the art world, consult with experts, discuss creativity, create your own collections of works of art, share them and be inspired. Artists, collectors, art dealers and just connoisseurs of art will appreciate the possibilities of the resource Arthive.

Theories and practices

Platform for knowledge sharing. Here you will find free and paid courses, trainings, lectures, master classes and articles in all fields of knowledge. An excellent environment for everyone who is driven by the desire to learn something new or wants to share knowledge, offers a resource Theories and practices.

PostScience

A platform on which more than 3,500 materials have already been published, of which almost 2,000 are videos about the achievements of fundamental science and modern technologies. All authors of the materials are experts in their scientific discipline. Among them are more than 800 scientists from various research fields, including Nobel laureates and representatives of foreign science. If you are interested in first-person exploration, welcome to PostScience.

4brain.ru

This site contains interesting methods for developing skills such as good memory, attention, speed reading, mental arithmetic, oratory. The materials are presented in courses, lectures, books and articles. A paid subscription gives you access to special exercises, 150+ games, tests, cases and the ability to track your learning progress in the personal account of the intellectual club 4brain.ru.

monocle

The focus of Monoclere is a person, everything that surrounds him excites, torments and inspires. This information space is designed to help everyone better understand themselves and their place in the world through relevant materials of world and Russian science and culture in the field of psychology, neuroscience, sociology, philosophy, literature, cultural studies, urban studies, etc. Public lectures and articles by scientists about culture, man and society are waiting for you site monocle.

Universarium

This open e-education system provides an opportunity to receive high-quality education from teachers from leading domestic universities. The training is based on the principle of passing the modules that make up the course, the total duration of which can be 7-10 weeks. There is a verification test at the end of each module. To get started, you need to go through an easy registration. Some courses are available at any time, while others start from the specified date. The number of educational materials on the site is constantly growing. At the moment, 38 lectures and 136 free courses from all areas of knowledge are waiting for you on the platform Universarium.

Lectorium

Lectorium is a platform with massive open online courses (MOOCs) prepared by leading Russian universities, the first specialized MOOC publishing house in Russia and the largest open archive of video lectures in Russian. Here you will find educational materials in various fields - robotics, literature, astrophysics, history, geography, logistics, genetics, probability theory, engineering, etc. The collection of courses is constantly updated, and access to materials Lectorium free.

Stepik

Each registered user can start learning on the Stepik educational platform or create their own lessons using the constructor of free open online courses. Students have the opportunity to have joint discussions and ask questions to teachers. Two annual online professional retraining programs - "Data Analysis" and "Fundamentals of Programming" - prepared by teachers from St. Petersburg Acad. Stepik.

Learn New

This educational project invites experts from different fields to share their knowledge by creating their courses on the site, as well as those who want to learn new things through online classes, webinars or master classes. The project is still in beta status, but already about 70 courses and lectures on foreign languages, cooking, art and design, entrepreneurship, algebra and advertising can be found on the platform Learn new.

Lingvist

Lingvist is a new language learning software based on mathematical optimization and statistical analysis. The program is adapted to each student, optimizing the time spent on learning and allowing you to learn the language in the shortest possible time. High technologies help to make the learning process fast, convenient and efficient. Register and learn languages for free on the site Lingvist.

Busuu

The 60 million community allows you to practice your language skills with native speakers from all over the world. As part of the course, you can send your written work to be checked by a native speaker, and in turn check the exercises performed by students studying Russian. Language courses from beginner to intermediate level can be taken sequentially or you can choose topics that are relevant to you. The free training option includes flash cards and editing exercises by native speakers. Premium courses starting at $5.41 per month offer advanced language learning options in Busuu.

Hexlet

Hexlet is a platform for teaching programming from the very basics to practice and the first job. The resource offers ten free courses. But for full-fledged training, you need to subscribe to a paid subscription. It gives you full access to all courses, guaranteed answers to your questions, and access to additional practice exercises. Assignments run in the browser, are checked automatically and do not need to install anything additional to learn from Hexlete.

EduMarket.Ru

EduMarket.Ru calls itself "portal No. 1 in the market of additional professional education" and offers the largest catalog of training programs for careerists. It is convenient to search for courses and training programs by thematic filters, payment terms, type of training, etc. Among the free online courses they offer: effective sales, macroeconomics, basics of project management, risk management for entrepreneurs, basics of finance. A total of 22,675 programs and courses (1,770 free) you will find in the database of educational programs EduMarket.Ru.

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