With students going back to college, and many attending for the first time the annual struggle of finding resources or content for assignments begins, rather than paying out big money for textbooks to be used once and then shelved why not get the material your looking for from one of the many freely available eLearning websites that are on the internet. To help you with this we put together a short list of the 10 best resource websites available to you!

10. Open Culture www.openculture.com

Open culture has educational content on a wide array of topics as well as writing tips, free text and e-books, 1200 free online courses and free language lessons.

9. Course Buffet www.coursebuffet.com

Course buffet is a massive free online course search engine, the website has a catalogue of course from over 250 universities. The webpage also allows you to compare all of these courses so you can find the correct course for you.

8. EdX www.EdX.org

A huge MOOC (Massive open online courses) platform that offers all of the courses for free to anyone who wants to learn. The website is also partnered with dozens of universities from all around the world.

7. KnowledgeNet www.knowledgenet.com

A great resource website for any who struggle to understand any IT related material, it has information from all of the major companies in the field, like Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and many more.

6. Coursera www.coursera.org

This is one of the most valuable learning resources on the web. Students can find free courses provided by prestigious universities. Courses include humanities, computer science, business, mathematics, biology, and many more.

5. Alison www.alison.com

Completely free online educations tool, all you as the student needs to do is pick a subject to learn. It can also function as a great online resource for completing assignments as it has courses on numerous subjects.

4. Saylor www.saylor.org

Another free online education tool, it even has free textbooks that are free to download and the courses are divided neatly into different sections for easy navigation.

3. OpenLearn www.open.edu/openlearn

This website offers downloadable coursework in lots of different categories like youth and children, languages, business, engineering, and others. And the coursework is available completely free.

2. Google Scholar www.scholar.google.com

Google Scholar sifts through the web’s clutter and targets peer-reviewed and research-based articles, primarily from journals, papers, and other sources create a Google Scholar Library to save searches, retrieve previous discoveries, and search the full text of found reports.

1. Khan Academy www.khanacademy.org

Khan Academy provides free video libraries, interactive challenges and assessments for students. The amount of material that is freely available is staggering and a great resource for all students no matter the level of knowledge.

You’ll need broadband to access all these fantastic websites and Magnet broadband have amazing Student Deals that include FREE TV for 3 months! And what’s best you can choose whether you want a contract or not… so if you’re taking off on a J1 next summer, you’re not stuck footing the bill! To check out the Magnet & AerTV deals call 1800 819 999 or click here.

We probably don’t need to tell you this but with all that researching and studying don’t forget to take some downtime and watch your favorite TV channels wherever you are with AerTV.

The post Top 10 Student Resource Websites appeared first on The Aertv Blog.

Its over. No more secondary school teachers, Leaving Cert or CAO. Sometimes the Leaving Cert feels like it will never end, but its only a year and the rest of your life is waiting for you on the other side…starting with college. You’ve probably gotten advice from friends, family and co-workers on what to expect and here’s our definitive list things you should know starting college.

1.      Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat

Studying when you start college is optional.

2.      What Happens in Fresher’s Week stays in Fresher’s Week

Need we say more?

3.      Learn to Budget when Starting College

Money is not easily come by in college and if you don’t keep an eye on the pennies you might find yourself eating Koka noodles week in week out. Believe me: Mammy’s home cooked dinners will never seem as tasty as they do after 5 days of cheap noodles!

4.      Household Essentials don’t Magically Appear

From toilet roll to tea towels, Cilit Bang to handwash… they don’t appear from thin air! Before going to college they’re rarely given a second thought but if you’re the housemate who forgets to buy when it’s their round don’t expect any pats on the back!

5.      Get your Student Card ASAP.

The holy grail of plastic cards is the beloved Student Card. With endless discounts: Maccy D’s, Irish Rail even club GAA matches the discounts are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

6.      Feeling Homesick when Starting College is Normal

Homesickness happens to the best of us and there’s no shame ringing the aul pair to hear about d’neighbours’ antics.

7.      Don’t Start Assignments the Night before Due Date

Procrastination is a word most college students become frequented with about three quarters way through Term 1. Putting things off is not too bad but leaving it until the night before is a nightmare. Even if you can type 150 WPM (words per minute), doing this 5 hours straight supped up on caffeine and energy drinks is neither enjoyable nor sustainable.

8.      Don’t Stress over 1st Year: Enjoy it!

The first year in college is great because you usually just have to pass: wahey! There’s no contribution towards your degree GPA and the workload is often much lighter than subsequent years. So make the most of your free time and have a blast.

9.      You don’t have to go to Every Single Event

It would probably be impossible to go to every college event: there isn’t enough time, money, energy to do it all. And often the evenings where you kick back and watch TV with your housemates can be the best craic. It’s ok to stay in and watch TV sometime BUT….

10. Sort out your Broadband & TV when you Move in

Hanging around trying to sort it mid semester when you need to do research a project in the comfort of your home is no joke. There are lots of options for broadband and tv, and one with flexibility and a low price point is probably going to be your sweet spot.

Magnet have amazing Student Deals that include FREE TV for 3 months! And what’s best you can choose whether you want a contract or not… so if you’re taking off on a J1 next summer, you’re not stuck footing the bill! To check out the Magnet & AerTV deals call 1800 819 999 or click here.

The post 10 Things you Need to Know Starting College appeared first on The Aertv Blog.