Best Study Websites for Students

The Internet and web technologies have radically transformed the concept of learning.  They have empowered users with the necessary tools to take control of their own learning and as a result learning becomes ubiquitous and free from any geographical or temporal constraints. The purpose of this post  is to share with you this collection of some very good study websites to help students enhance their learning irrespective of where they are located. 

1- EdX - Online Courses

EdX offers interactive online classes and MOOCs from world renowned universities and colleges including MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, UT and many more. Courses cover different topics such as biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, finance, electronics, engineering, food and nutrition, history, humanities, law, literature, math, medicine, music, philosophy, physics, science, statistics and more. 

2- Coursera

Students can use Coursera resources to earn certificates and credit towards a degree as well as earn credentials from top universities around the world. There are both free and premium courses. Other study materials offered by Coursera include downloadable videos to view offline, audio-only supported courses, video subtitles for different languages (e.g., Arabic, French, German, Japanese), among others. Coursera has mobile apps for Android and iOS operated devices.

3- Udemy

Udemy is an online learning platform that offers courses in several languages. Simply select from the available courses and learn at your own pace. Courses are organized into numerous categories such as design, business, personal development, photography, music, IT and Software, marketing, among others. 

4- Class Central 

This is another good study website where students can discover a wide variety of free online courses provided by some top universities such as Stanford, Harvard and MIT. Courses are arranged by subject from computer science to social sciences.

5- Khan Academy

I can't compile a list of study websites for students without featuring Khan Academy. This is a great learning platform that offers "practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom". 

Subjects covered by Khan Academy courses include:  math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more. Khan Academy also offer specialized content through its partnership with institutions such as NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.

6- Open Yale Courses

Open Yale Courses offers access to a wide range of introductory courses offered by teachers and scholars from Yale University. These are basically lectures recorded within Yale's classes and are available to the public for free in audio, video and text transcript formats. No registration is required.

7- MIT Open Courseware

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) offers access to MIT courses. Students can search for relevant courses and download them for free. Courses come with other resources such as assignments, exams, lecture notes, and more. Courses span different topics including science, social science, humanities, literature, physics, history, biology, economics, history, physics, sociology, architecture, political science, language, and many more.

8. Master Class

MasterClass offers courses taught by famous people. For instance, Hilary Clinton teaches the power of resilience, Melinda Gates teaches impactful giving, Christina Aguilera teaches singing, Samuel L. Jackson teaches acting, Steve Martin teaches comedy, Serena Williams teaches Tennis, and many more.

Each class in MasterClass includes on-demand-videos that you can watch at your own pace anywhere anytime. A MasterClass membership for one individual account costs $20 per month.

9. Research resources for students

Check out this collection featuring some of best research tools to help you with your studies. You will find academic research engines, websites where you can find academic books, citation and reference managers, writing tools and softwares for students, presentation tools, video creation tools, note taking tools, annotation tools and tools I used during my PhD studies. 

10. Places that offer free eBooks and audiobooks

Check out this compilation of websites where you can access a wide variety of free eBooks and audiobooks.  If you are a bibliophile like me and enjoy reading books or listening to audiobooks then you definitely need to keep this list handy. Some of these platforms require that you register using a valid email address and password before you download ebooks. Registration is free.