In the age of the internet, information once gatekept in universities behind huge fees and commitments is now free at the touch of a finger. The great and life-changing mysteries of the universe and emerging skills can be learned by anyone! This content isn’t made by random people either, experts from all fields want to pass on their zeal and knowledge. In fact, sometimes online content is easier to understand than going to a university lecture! This interesting method has replaced getting a degree for some, as employers are increasingly skill focused, but not every field has gone this far, though nearly all fields have amazing content.
Best STEM classes
Khan Academy is a free service which provides courses and video series explaining essentially every subject at almost every level. They provide means of studying for prominent tests in the US such as the SAT. Additionally, some of their courses are A.P. college levels.
Harvard offers several classes online, free to view, but credits will cost you. A popular course is CS50: Introduction to Computer Science.[1] In this course, the basics of coding and website design are taught. This course is free, but a variety of other Computer Science courses are offered by Harvard through the institution, edX.
edX is an online degree hub, with millions of users. On edX, users can take courses in degrees from institutions like Harvard, MIT, Berkley, Cambridge and more.[2] The degrees include but are not limited to AI, Data Science, Finance, MBA, and Computer Science. There are some free courses that can be audited, but if one wants a certification or a degree, one will need to pay.
Georgia Institute of Technology is a very prominent STEM University and they offer a Master’s Degree online.[3] Georgia Tech Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) has graduated over 10,000 students and currently goes for $21,140.75 a term.
STEM learning platforms
Paid
Brilliant is a gamified way to learn math, science, and coding. While there is a free version, it has limited access. Premium costs $27.99 a month or $161 a year. Specifically, it is an excellent tool to learn mathematics, which is often done only with repetition. Yet in Brilliant mathematical concepts are treated like levels and are taught with visual aids like a game.
Free
Minecraft
The popular video game Minecraft has an educational version complete with gameplay, maps, and lesson plans for teachers which are ordered to help teach a variety of STEM fields. Including but not limited to, Computer Science, AI, chemistry, physics and biology can all be learned through the game.[4] It is a great way to teach those who aren’t initially interested in STEM about the complex and interesting world we live in.
Free tech courses
Youtube is home to incredible STEM teachers who are professors or who can explain the topic often better than professors, for free! First up is TheOrganicChemistryTutor with over 9.6 million subscribers.[5] In addition to teaching Organic Chemistry, OCT teaches general chemistry, basic mathematics, statistics, calculus, biology, biochemistry, geometry trigonometry and more! He makes videos short and digestible and has organized playlists which put everything one needs to know from beginning to end.
BroCode[6] is a coding youtuber with 2.8 million subscribers. He has several free courses on the best coding languages, such as Python, Java, C, and on concepts like algorithms, databases, and different ways to build websites and use frameworks. Each of his videos is designed to be followed along by users in real time, and he gives tutorials for complete beginners to get everything downloaded on their computers.
FreeCodeCamp[7] has over 11 million subscribers. It offers complete courses in essentially all computer science concepts. Through not as easy to follow as BroCode, it certainly goes much deeper and has a wider variety of instructors and concepts available.
3Blue1Brown[8] creates animated videos to explain concept topics like calculus, linear algebra, physics and A.I. He has over 7.5 million subscribers and also has curated playlists ready for visual learners. His content is college level, and very useful for any person interested in these complex topics.
[1] https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/
[2] https://www.edx.org/
[3] https://omscs.gatech.edu/
[4] https://education.minecraft.net/en-us
[5] https://www.youtube.com/@TheOrganicChemistryTutor
[6] https://www.youtube.com/@BroCodez
[7] https://www.youtube.com/@freecodecamp
[8] https://www.youtube.com/@3blue1brown/featured
