Plug your small business into these free digital learning resources
February 23 is Digital Learning Day, and what better day to introduce your team to some amazing free resources that can help build a better business? Not only will your team build better personal and professional skills, you will enjoy increased loyalty and dedication to your business by demonstrating your commitment to your employees’ growth. Here are some excellent resources to build business skills:
- TED Talks: No list about free learning is complete without mentioning TED Talks. This collection of speeches from the world’s greatest entrepreneurs, inventors, authors, activists, scientists, and thinkers is filled with ideas to spark creativity and encourage exploration. Many of the talks are short enough to be watched over lunch break or first think in the morning, and all of them include some great nuggets of information to glean on a huge variety of topics. Have you seen my TED talk?
- Duolingo: One of the most interesting language learning tools on the Internet, Duolingo is totally free and can help users learn or brush up on nearly two dozen languages.
- CodeSchool: While not all of the courses on CodeSchool are free, your employees can learn the basics of JavaScript and several other coding languages completely free in this self-paced course. I’m not a coder myself, but Jordan Minor gives Code School an “excellent” rating in his PC Magazine article.
- EdX.org: Completely free university-level courses in business, finances, computer technology, and more. Send your employees to brush up on the tricks of public speaking, analyzing data with Excel, or building and managing great teams.
- Udemy: Udemy is another online educational resource that allows students to access both free and paid courses. Check out the many personal development courses that are free, such as “The 7 Essential Steps to Getting Your Dream Career” here, which can help employees narrow their focus to better serve your business in their perfect position.
- The Muse: The Muse is an aggregate site that collects some of the best business-related educational resources from around the web. Not all are free, but many are!
Depending on what types of skills you and your team need to develop, be sure to check out tools that can help you learn how to manage your time better and how to reduce distractions in the workplace. Also, don’t forget YouTube! I have nearly 100 videos on my YouTube Channel.
Finally, many top universities post lectures and speeches from their professors to YouTube and these can be prime resources for gleaning valuable information. There are hundreds of free educational resources out there that are waiting to be discovered on Digital Learning Day!