Best Websites About Online Education

Websites, blogs and other resources to help you to better understand your options in online degrees and elearning.

Elsevier's Evolve - Very impressive online source of textbooks in electronic format and other resources for students in nursing and other health care specialties.

Free Online Courses From Berkeley - A large selection of courses on math, engineering, history and all sorts of other sources from this famous branch of the State University of California, delivered via webcast.

Strategies and Tips for Online Students - Various articles on what can make you successful in online learning, from the Florida Distance Learning Consortium.

LD Online - Website for parents of kids with learning disabilities and ADHD. Good source of help for K-12 kids having a rough time in school.

Virtual Math Lab - Site created by West Texas A&M University, with tons of free tutorials that can help if you're strugging with college algebra.

Reference.com - Reference.com offers a wide variety of free information on languages, medical and other specialized dictionaries, translation tools and a fun "word of the day." Some features require paid subscription.

Eduventures - Eduventures is a major research and consulting firm for universities, which helps them plan many of their online initiatives. Worth checking out to get a sense of how universities view their online students and programs.

Fisher Price Online Learning Games For Kids - Have some fun with your toddler and help them learn - a good site in the "edutainment" field.

Learning Works - Interesting site dedicated to online teaching of literacy.

American Nurses Association - Leading organization that promotes the interests of registered nurses in the U.S., and offers testing & credentialing services.

Rate My Professors - Educators hate it, but this website is a big tool for students to let each other know how well their professors teach. Includes some reviews of online professors.

Free Agriculture Courses - Interested in Farming? Excellent free CEU credit courses here.

Free online course listings at Free-Ed

Good page telling you what computer skills you need to study online from Georgia Tech College

Inside Higher Ed - This daily news site competes with the old, and some might say archaic, Chronicle of Higher Education. Though it’s written more for college professors than for students, it includes lots of information about how various colleges and universities are migrating toward more online teaching. Offers a good insider’s view of what types of online courses work best, which schools are having the most success with them, and the intense debate among academics about whether elearning is improving or damaging higher education.

Learn A Foreign Language - Free courses, dictionaries and translation tools.

Adult Student Center - Tips & student stories for grownups heading back to school.

College Scholarships - Find financial help for every possible type of college degree.

About.com's Distance Learning Blog - This column, which covers both online and traditional learning issues, is updated regularly for About.com by journalist Jamie Littlefield. She does a nice job of covering financial, technology and other issues of importance to students who are considering an online degree. There’s also a newsletter to sign up for but watch out, About.com will try to sign you up for a ton of other offers if you subscribe.

Electronic Campus - The Southern Regional Education Board is an alliance of colleges and universities in 16 southern states. Their electronic campus site offers a very high quality search engine that allows you to browse for courses by location, subject matter, and by time of year the courses will be offered online. The site is frequently updated, has complete information on test requirements (like whether or not you will have to actually visit the college to take tests even though you’re in an online degree program). This is specifically oriented toward adult learners. The only limitation is that the site tends to give more information on individual course offerings than full online degree programs, but it’s wonderful that all the information is provided in an environment free of advertising.

Jesuit Distance Education Network - There are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. and 29 in Latin America. JDEN is a collaboration of these schools, designed to provide information about online and offline courses for prospective students. It’s said that the Jesuits, long considered the most academic of all Catholic orders, have a connection to technology that goes all the way back to the 16th century, when founder St. Ignatius bought the most advanced printing press available for his first school. A variety of ethics papers are available here for your interest, along with useful information on online courses in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

E-Learning Pundit - E-Learning Pundit is an excellent blog that can help keep you on top of changes and new developments in online learning. Along with reviews of what major publications are saying about elearning, it offers original articles on the cost of online degree programs, interviews with important educators and very specific information about certificates and unique distance learning programs. A smart and opinionated source of online learning info.

E-Learning Queen
Though this “edublog” is aimed a bit more at the professional educator than the student, it’s one of the most tech-savvy voices in the higher education category. Coverage of new ways that gaming, virtual worlds, psychological studies and other factors are being integrated into the world of distance learning. Fun, opinionated writing and great tips, with the occasional odd entry about Amy Winehouse and other topics from left field. The E-Learning Queen also bestows “Corgi Big Bark Awards” each years to top innovators in online education.

Online Degree Dorm Room
Though it’s only updated about once a month, this blog offers good tips about new online degree programs being offered at specific schools, all written from the student’s standpoint. Includes some good student testimonials about online study, and updates on special tuition offers.