Tech Know

Back in the Internet’s infancy, there was a time when universities were the main driving force behind its wide acceptance; then porn came along and it really took off, but that’s another story. Still, it’s ironic that the Internet is now challenging those same universities, thanks to the range of online courses that can get you educated without having to fork out the pricy tuition fees. 

iTunes U
www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning
Apple doesn’t just offer classes in developing iPhone apps
(although these are available thanks to Stanford U!). iTunes U is a portal. for universities to host their digital lectures in both video and presentation formats. All you need is iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes) and an Apple account. Courses by top colleges like Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge are just a few clicks away. You can then watch the lectures on your laptop or download them to your iPod or iPhone.

YouTube EDU
www.youtube.com/edu
YouTube’s EDU channel has no funny cat videos but plenty of lectures submitted by US universities from Arizona State and USC to Berkeley and Yale. Classes cover topics like economics, marketing and, of course, quantum physics. There’s also a directory listing individual university channels if you’re a Yale or Harvard snob.

Academic Earth
www.academicearth.org
Academic Earth is the alternative choice for you free love, free world hippies to get your free education on computer science, chemistry and philosophy. The selection at AE is of a much better quality compared to YouTube, but there is less choice. The videos are available for download and there’s even a button on the video that generates a citation quote in case you’d like to include them in your real world thesis.