Its almost unbelievable that in this day and age almost everyone is carrying around
comes as no surprise that many want to utilise this resource, the internet, to become
a better, smarter, productive being! With this in mind, 19 of the top websites that will
make you a smart person, in every way, has been compiled for you.
Academic
1. Smarterer
Want to test your writing ability? Prove your programming skills? Show people that
youre an Excel genius? Using Smarterer, you can take tests that provide you with a
qualification that you can show to employers when they need proof of your abilities!
2. UniversityWebinars
If youre a fan of TED Talks, this is basically the TED Talks of the university world.
With live webinars, and a huge library of past webinars and other educational videos,
3. Memrise
Flash cards, mixed with the addictive nature of gaming. This one is great for those
looking to improve their overall general knowledge, while having fun. Its available in
a multitude of languages!
4. Project Gutenberg
Dont have the time or money to read a book, but still manage to sit and read on the
internet for an obscene amount of time every day? No more excuses, Project
Gutenberg is a catalogue of books that you can read, online, right now, without cost.
Get reading!
5. Treehouse
entrepreneurial tips, youll never come away from Treehouse without having learnt
something. The only downside is that it costs at least $25 a month after the free trial,
6. OpenCulture
From online courses to ebooks, you can find it all on OpenCulture. Its one of the
7. Udacity
Udacity is almost like the vocational learning place of the Internet. Real people
teaching you real technical skills that are needed by real tech companies, with
hands-on projects instead of boring old lectures. Its hard for this one to fail to
please.
8. Creative Live
Classes streamed live. Some cost, others are free, but all are worth watching! These
arent your average classes either, theyre real practical classes that will give you
real usable skills. (Theres even a section for those looking to make more money!)
9. Future Learn
Future Learn is a site that offers free courses, in categories such as Law,
Psychology, Teaching and many more. Partnered with some of the finest universities
that the UK has to offer, you can be guaranteed that the content of the course will
10. Coursera
This is similar to Future Learn, though maybe with a bit more variety. With over 800
courses, and 10,000 current students, the statistics speak for themselves. The
courses are always informative, and you get a real qualification at the end of them!
Youve probably heard of Reddit, but have you heard that Reddit created a new site
where Redditers could teach each other? Pretty much any subject you can think of is
covered here, because theyre all people just like you, teaching what they know!
Creativity
13. Drawspace
So youve always wanted to draw, but have never known where to start? Drawspace
is here to rescue you, and get you expressing in the artistic format that youve
always desired! Easy, comprehensive, guides that will get you drawing in seconds.
14. HackADay
The name says it all. Every day a new hack is posted, with topics varying from things
like fixing faulty Apple chargers to learning to build movie props you can find it all
15. Do It Yourself
Do It Yourself offers you an overwhelming amount of free DIY projects that you can
do, in a simple and easy to read (and do) format. Its time to become the handyman
16. Instructables
impossible to have a look on Instructables without coming away having learnt how to
17. UnplugTheTV
A site thatll give you a random video to watch, thatll benefit your mind, instead of
watching TV. A neat idea, and the execution seems to match. The content is not
always guaranteed to be the best, but its always guaranteed to be better than
mindless TV.
18. AboveTopSecret
Alternative news sources are a wealth of information, if you can get past the bias.
Dont limit yourself to seeing the worldly events from a single perspective, explore
other options. Check out the sources, draw your own conclusions.
over the web are posted. Everything from politics to religion is covered here, so its
So there you have it, 19 sites that will make you smarter in a variety of ways. If you
have any that you think belong on this list, dont be afraid to share them in the
comments below!
involves all aspects of your life, from how you manage your credit card bills to how to
discipline your children. Here is a selection of free courses that cover all aspects of
your life that you need to control in order to be successful. This list has all you need
Productivity
Lots of people say that time is your most valuable resource. With this course at UC
Irvine, you can learn how to use your time to make yourself more successful. This
course covers personal and professional productivity, which is useful because a poor
personal routine can undermine your efforts to be successful. Learn how to use your
time more productively to reach a new level of success. Stick with this course to
Learn how to negotiate with a course from the University of Michigan. It teaches you
how to work a negotiation to ensure you get the better deal. You will benefit from the
tips, tricks and advice that have been gathered from studies into human behavior. It
can help make you successful through teaching you how to negotiate your way into a
better wage, mortgage, and into a better job. They work on the four steps to
successful negotiation.
http://loveyourmoney.org/ Ongoing
In a joint venture with the University of Tennessee and FINRA, you can figure out
how to achieve all the success you want by managing your money better. The
course teaches you how to be successful with things such as building wealth, setting
budgets, setting goals, debt, pensions and so much more. It runs through many of
the money issues you are going to face throughout your life and teaches you how to
handle them to ensure your future success. Take this course to improve the way you
With Princeton University you can learn how to give away your money more
effectively. Sometimes you can do damage with the money you give away if you
dont check out the background of the organization you are giving to. In addition,
many people squander there money on risky ventures with family and friends. This
course teaches you how to avoid such traps and make practical and unsentimental
decisions giving away money. Throughout a lifetime of giving, you deserve to know
that the organizations you are giving to are ones that represent your values.
5. Psychology of Popularity
The key to success is often the ability to influence people, and with the University of
North Carolina, you can learn how popularity works. You can discover the
psychology behind popularity and how to use it. They feature the works of Steve
Siebold, a famous public speaker, and with the help of the course, you may find how
different than the type worshiped in high school, popularity can be quite effective in
your professional and personal life in making connections that are genuine.
https://www.edx.org/course/behavioural-economics-action-university-torontox-
This is a course from the University of Toronto. The class gives practical ways to
change how you behave in every aspect of life. For example, people in our time have
been taught by the TV and media to spend money as soon as they get it. This is a
behavior that you can change. The course gives you practical advice that you can
use to change how you are programmed with regards to money and temptation.
per week
Success means being able to balance and manage your home life as well as your
career. With the University of Florida, you can learn how to balance your home and
work life and you can learn how to plan for a career. You no longer need to choose
between having a family and having a career, with the help of this course you can
have both. You can learn how to manage risk, work on your taxes and invest so that
With the University of Melbourne, you can learn how investors, analysts and CEOs
make their decisions. It teaches you computer skills along with financial decision-
making skills. Learn basic accounting principles and combine it all to figure out how
to manage and use your money more effectively. You can measure the value of your
investments and figure out where to put your money where it will work its hardest for
you. It is a core lesson in the productivity of the money you invest. If you start today,
9. Financial Markets
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With this course at Yale University, you can learn how the world markets work via
guest speakers such as Hank Greenberg and Carl Icahn. You can learn the theory
behind banking and the financial markets. They tie into everything from the rate you
pay for your mortgage, to how much stock you should buy for the coming month.
With this knowledge, you can make more informed decisions at home and in
business. They even help you guess how the financial markets are going to change
in the future.
week
This is a very useful course you can take with the University of Illinois. It teaches key
principles such as risk and return, optimization, and security pricing. It works well
when trying to figure out your future investments, but it ties into hundreds of different
aspects of your life, from how you make decisions about staff members to how you
discipline your children. Learn how to look to the future and how you should invest in