New Year's Resolution: Learn Something New

The best New Year's resolutions are exciting challenges that, once achieved, improve the quality of your life. No self-improvement program is more satisfying building your education. With the free online offerings at these 3 leading universities you can become an expert in any subject that sparks your interest.

M.I.T (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

MIT is a private University located in Cambridge Massachusetts. Emphasis at the university is on technological and scientific research. Numerous Nobel Laureates, National Medal of Honor recipients and McArthur Fellows are among the alumni and faculty of M.I.T. The university offers rigorous courses in leading edge fields.

MIT offers free online courses that include reading lists, videotaped lectures, course assignments and study guides. All of these are available online at the MIT Open Course Ware site.

Examples of the hundreds of courses available:

Introduction to Aerospace Engineering and Design

Genetic Neurobiology

Game Theory for Managers

U.C Berkeley

U.C Berkeley is the oldest of the campuses in the University of California system. It is one of the most competitive schools in the U.S. Named for George Berkeley (Bar-clay) the 16th Century Irish philosopher, U.C. Berkeley offers 300 undergraduate and graduate degrees in a wide variety of subjects. Free online video and podcast offerings cover many fascinating subjects.

Political Rhetoric and Civility in the 2008 Presidential Election

Cognitive Science

Current Issues in International and Area Studies

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame is a private Roman Catholic research university which consists of 5 colleges and one professional school. It's ranked among the top U.S universities and has one of the largest research libraries in the country. The free Open Course Ware project at Notre Dame offers a wide variety of material for self paced online learning.

Islamic Societies of the Middle East and North Africa: Religion, History, and Culture

Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

Free Open Course Ware is growing throughout the country and the world. As more and more universities offer access to materials online, the possibilities for learning seem limitless.

Some students have created social sites where self learners can connect with each other to discuss, debate or just check in with other students. Start a project like this one with your fellow students.

Or once you're an expert contribute to citizendium and share your newly acquired knowledge with others.

Courses available to the public online don't earn college credit. But knowledge is it's own reward. One added benefit of online learning is that should you ever decided to take the classes at the university, the final exam should be a breeze.