Killer Websites that Make You Cleverer - NiSystemsBlog

Duolingo

This isn’t the first time I’ve recommended this free language-teaching website (and app), and it certainly won’t be the last. Regular use of the site can have you speaking and writing Spanish, English, German, French, Portuguese and Italian in a matter of months depending on the diligence you put into it. Hopefully, even more languages will become available soon.

The World Factbook

Did you know that the CIA has information on pretty much everything in the world? Okay, but did you know that they make a ton of this information open to the public? Allowing you to cite facts and details that pertain to a seemingly endless amount of information from reputable sources.

Lumosity

This is a fun tool that uses memory games to help train your cognitive responses. Select all aspects of your memory that you want to train. They create simple daily workouts with exercises that reflect your choices. Informed by neuroscience research, Lumosity exercises are engineered to train a variety of core cognitive functions. While every user’s experience is different, many Lumosity users report positive results that include better memory, faster problem-solving skills, and increased alertness. The best part is that the games are actually addicting and fun to look forward to!

Coursera

Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. At Coursera they envision a future where everyone has access to a world-class education that has so far been available to a select few. We aim to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. A not-for-profit organization with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. They provide resources for learning pretty much every subject out there, including math, science, history and more. As you learn, the platform will even assess your progress and help you gauge what you’ve learned. This is a great site for people of all ages, all of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge

Investopedia

Investopedia is a resource for investing education, personal finance, market analysis and free trading simulators. With a comprehensive financial dictionary, exam preparation materials, and active trading strategies, it is a leading destination for investors. There are tons of resources like tutorials and videos that will help you keep up with the ever-changing world of money, and the news stories will keep you coming back for more.

TEDtalks

For years, people have been benefitting from TED talks that provide free insights from the world’s smartest people. TED is a non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading provoking. Poke around, and look over the most popular talks for inspiration (or check out this cool summary). TED conferences bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less). The app is also great for catching up on the latest talks, and you can even download some on iTunes.

Wikipedia

It’s an obvious one. But really, have you ever spent a few hours on one of Wikipedia’s huge, sprawling entries – say, the history of South Africa, US Presidents and Science – clicking link after link? You can learn a huge amount about a random collection of fascinating things in a few hours on Wikipedia. I sometime use it in discussions to find answers that Friends can argue about, (am I just a nerd?), and rest assured, the reliability and accuracy of Wikipedia consistently ranks on par with top journals and encyclopaedias.

Livestrong

LIVESTRONG.COM is the definitive destination for those who want to build their own healthy living success story. We believe that everyone should feel empowered through food, fitness, and inspiration to pursue their best life because eating well and staying active are critical components in preventing cancer and fighting other illnesses. LIVESTRONG.COM offers authoritative expert content in the diet, nutrition, fitness, wellness and lifestyle categories that informs and empowers. When I started cycling I use this site for all my health, fitness and nutrition advice. This site has helped me becoming a better cyclist in one year.

Codeacademy

If you haven’t noticed by now, the Internet has pretty much taken over everything, which means the skill of coding and developing websites is in higher demand than ever. Codecademy started to help anyone learn the skills they need in order to succeed in the twenty-first century. Learning shouldn't be confined to a classroom or a desktop computer. They launched their first iPhone app, Codecademy: Hour of Code, for anyone in the world to get started learning to code on the go. With Codeacademy, you can use free tutorials that teach you the basics of coding with interactive and handy tools for helping you become an expert.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn’s purpose is to transform access to education. They offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world.

Courses vary in length. Most are six to ten weeks long but they also have some shorter two and three week courses.