14 Vital Skills That You Can Learn On The Internet For Free
Do you want to learn Photoshop, coding, programming, or how to play a guitar? Don't know where to start? Fear not, because here's a list of some FREE online tutorials that will get you started on the right foot.
The advent of the internet has changed the way our educational system works.
Nowadays any given individual can teach themselves some of the most valuable, sought-after, marketable, and well-paid skills.
...Or a bunch of useless and random junk information.
But oftentimes, the question isn't so much "how do I learn?" rather as "where do I start looking?".
And with that question in mind, here's a list of some free online resources that you can use in your quest for modern enlightenment
NOTE: Before I go any further allow me to state what the criteria was for an item on this list.
They are, as follows:
1) That the tutorial MUST be available online (obviously).
2) And it HAS to be free...no exceptions on this one!
So without any further delay let's begin with...
1. Photoshop CC 2014
For those of you who don't know, this is the latest version of Photoshop. There's the usual updates to performance, efficiency, ease-of-use, upgraded features, and various other tweaks and changes, BUT the major change with CC is that it is now ONLY available via Adobe's Creative Cloud system.
Which means that you can't buy it per se, you basically rent it. There are many complaints about this, but also many supporters of it as well. However, CC still represents the PERFECT balance between power, performance, and beginner-friendliness.
Now enough of the background info, let's get on with the actual tutorial itself.
This beginner-oriented tutorial begins by giving you some very basic instructions on how to alter your picture. Then moves onto other things like camera shake reduction, 3D live paint, and isolating layers to name just a few.
What makes this series so good is how easy it is to understand. Just simply open up your copy of Photoshop and follow along. Doesn't get simpler than that!
And even if you're not a Photoshop noob anymore, there's still plenty of advanced content for you to browse through at your leisure.
Just be sure to read through the user-manual and other basic documents that Adobe provides with Photoshop in case you are a TOTAL Photoshop noob and can't make heads or tails at all of what you see. That way, you'll at least be able to recognize what the different icons for the different tools are.
2. HTML5/CSS3
When it comes to coding HTML 5 and CSS 3 are considered to be the very foundation of IT stuff plus they control an undeniable monopoly web development/design. In layman's terms, ALL modern websites run off of HTML and CSS.
And the best part is...
...that they are so EASY to learn. No seriously, I'm not even exaggerating on that. They really are. If you actually give it a shot, you'll be surprised at how fast and how much you'll be able to learn.
Don't believe me? Then go ahead and check out CodeAcademy.
They've sort of become the internet's go-to guys for beginner tutorials on coding. And while it's true that the website also offers lessons on Javascript, Python, Ruby, etc. I will concentrate on HTML5/CSS3 for now. More into the programming languages later.
Anyway, when you go to the website they'll ask you to register for an account. Which is 100% totally free. Then you can jump right into the lessons.
The lessons themselves are designed like a do-it-yourself type of deal. Each language is split into different lessons, and each lesson is further split into different pages. A lot like a book.
Each 'page' of the lesson will start by explaining some introductory stuff as to what you will be doing, how you're going to do it, and why. Then there is a task for you to accomplish on your own with the results being shown in real-time via a mini web browser built into the site itself.
Once you're done you just click the submit button and move on. If you made a mistake then CodeAcademy will prevent you from moving on and give a helpful reminder/tip about what you may have done wrong. There's also a 'hint' button you can use too in case you're lost, and if you're REALLY stumped you can always jump into the forums that are conveniently linked in the lesson itself where you can ask for help from others.
It's quite intuitive and pretty fun; plus the entire HTML5/CSS3 lesson is estimated at 7 hours long and shouldn't take even a slow learner much longer than that. Which means that you could potentially get through it all in one day if you really wanted to. After that, there's even more advanced content and links to resources that you can help browse through.
So what are you waiting?
3. Wordpress
Wordpress is probably the most popular way to blog and make your own website.
A lot of popular sites are powered by it such as The Chive and Thought Catalog to name a few, and for good reason too.
There are a TON of tutorials about Wordpress, but after browsing through countless resources. The conclusion that I've come to is that the best free online tutorial for Wordpress is Wordpress's own tutorials.
That's right, all other resources either fail in the departments of not being comprehensive enough, too out of date, or simply requiring payment.
NOTE: Although I am referring to Wordpress.org with this list item, the same goes for Wordpress.com; the company's own tutorials for both choices are still the best free tutorials out there.
Also, just FYI if you don't know the difference between Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com just think of it this way. Wordpress.org is for full-fledged websites like if you wanted to start a business and needed a website for it; it definitely requires more skill in terms of being tech-savvy.
Meanwhile, Wordpress.com is primarily just for blogging. You can certainly do a lot more than just blogging with it, but the rule of thumb here is that if you ONLY want to blog then Wordpress.com is going to be more appropriate for your purposes.
4. Objective C/iOS App Development
It seems like building a new app and founding your own tech start-up is all the rage now. Everybody and their brother has that one "oh-so-special" idea that they all believe will turn them into the next multi-billionaire technological innovator, but if only they could program...
Well, fear not! Because whether you are realistic with yourself, your capabilities as a tech-savvy, business-minded genius, and your career; or whether you are completely and unequivocally delusional about your chances of success Udemy has a pretty in-depth iOS track for all the Apple programmer noobs out there.
The Become an iOS Developer from Scratch course will cover basics such as an overview of iOS itself, Objective C (the language that powers iOS), the SDK from Apple, and getting familiar with Xcode. The whole thing is about 8 hours long with 99 lectures.
It's some pretty interesting material, and if you're into anything Apple at all you should really give it a shot. Who knows, maybe you really WILL become the next great innovator!
5. Android App Development
So obviously if we're going to go over iOS then Android MUST be covered as well. In all honesty, there's really not much to be said here that wasn't already mentioned with the Apple stuff.
Most of the general principles are the same if you're a beginner. The learning process won't be that much different for either Java (The primary language that Android is powered by) or Objective C. But I'll go over some of the major differences between both platforms just in case there's any confusion.
Here's some of the facts:
A) Android is technically more popular in the sense that there's more Android devices overall, out there.
B) Android is considered by some to be easier to develop for because you can pretty much do it on any computer while iOS development basically requires that you have an Apple computer or use an emulator (kind of a hassle and may lead to potential issues later on involving legality and/or ease of publishing).
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's go on to the actual tutorial itself. And our best option for that is just the official Android Developers website.
This is the be-all and end-all of everything Android, and it's also where all the Google Android Devs come and post things up to help others learn Android.
The sheer quantity of content on this site is pretty intimidating at first, but don't worry. The Google guys have really done a good job of keeping everything as short, concise, and straight-forward as possible. Plus, if you really have trouble understanding things there's a Youtube channel connected with the site where you can just watch a video of it.
Please NOTE though, that the website itself is rather drab looking at first glance. It was not designed to be pretty, it was built for function and to be practical. If you're looking for something cool to admire while learning then you may have to consider other options.
6. Java, Python, Ruby, and all those other programming languages
Earlier, I mentioned CodeAcademy as a good place to start learning HTML5/CSS3, but you probably noticed that I didn't recommend CodeAcademy for any other languages. Well there's a reason for that.
Despite the fact that CodeAcademy does offer introductory courses to JavaScript, Ruby, Python, etc. I have to admit that CodeAcademy is NOT the best free online resource for all the other programming languages. Their selection is just simply too limited.
But none of that matters as BuckysRoom.org is not!
BuckysRoom is a giant collection of video tutorials for a whole range of things; most of them are tech-related but not all of it.
You can find tutorials on pretty much every major programming language out there. Want to learn Java before tackling Android Apps? Go ahead, BuckysRoom has it covered along with such things like AJAX, C++, PHP, jQuery, and even a video series on how to make beer!
Like I said you'll find everything.
7. Copywriting
Copywriting is, in a nutshell, the art of finding the right words in the right combination to increase the amount of readers you get. And in this day and age, it really translates to trying to go 'viral'.
Basically, a copywriter's main purpose is to get their material (or company's material) to become as viral as possible and reach out to as many people as possible thus driving traffic to the company website/company itself. Which ultimately means that sales will go up, and that equals more revenue.
It's a rather interesting field and there's certainly a lot varied opinions on just exactly how to go about this business of going viral. As you've probably guessed by now, this isn't exactly a science it really is more of an art form than anything else.
But some things are still written in stone, even for copywriting, and one of those is Joe Robson and Ken Evoy's Make Your Words Sell: The Simple Art of e-Persuasion.
This nifty little e-book right here is more-or-less the modern Bible of copywriting and comes HIGHLY recommended by many. Which is perfect, because you can find it right here!
8. Sony Vegas
Hey! That looks pretty cool huh? Want to learn how to make it?
Easy! Just do it with Sony Vegas.
Don't know how to use it?
Easier still, because here's a website that will teach you how.
The above link will take you to Movie Studio Zen. Which is a tremendous compilation for all things Sony Vegas related. They keep themselves up-to-date with all of the new releases including Vegas 13 that just came out a few months ago, and will show you everything from how to edit and create a very basic Youtube video up to even demonstrating how you can make your own depth-of-field effects.
There's even a video showing you how to do the Star Wars intro scene with the scrolling letters, except in blue!
Now before you go off and start making your own epic Youtube videos there are a few things that you should know:
A) Sony Vegas is considered one of the easier and more beginner-friendly video editors out there that can still accomplish a lot of professional level work.
B) I use the term Sony 'Vegas" loosely here. When I say Sony 'Vegas' I also mean the other more limited versions such as Sony Movie Studio and Sony Movie Studio Platinum.
C) The difference between the different versions aren't that much if you're only looking to do beginner-level stuff, a.k.a., Youtube videos.
9. Learning How to Play a Guitar
OK let's take a step away from all the technical stuff and move on to something a little more retro in nature. Playing a guitar.
Being musically talented has a lot of benefits in real life. I mean in addition to the fact that you MIGHT become a celebrity, a.k.a., Justin Bieber style with the Youtube videos and what not; there's also the fact that you can easily impress others and entertain yourself if you know how to play the guitar.
And it's this exact train of thought that led this guy to making his own website teaching others to play the guitar.
He even has his videos on Youtube!
10. Drums
While we're at it with the guitar thing we might as well include the drums too.
There's really not much to be said here as drums are sort of self-explanatory. You just make beats, nothing really to elaborate on here.
But if you're a complete noob freedrumlessons.com offers a beginner series that covers all the fundamentals. And from there on, you can move on to more challenging things like a drum solo and covers of your favorite songs.
11. Unreal Development Kit
The Unreal Engine is pretty much the most popular game engine.
It's an EXTREMELY powerful engine yet it's also versatile enough to be adapted to many different genres of gaming.
A lot of the big name studios prefer to use it.
In fact, some of your favorite games like Gears of War, BioShock: Infinite, and Batman: Arkham City were made using the Unreal Engine. So clearly it's not a bad product.
But the best part about UDK is that it's free if you just want to screw around with it, and because of its popularity there's such an enormous amount of free resources that you'll never have to spend a dime to at least get familiar with it.
Epic themselves have even conveniently made a community link where you can find an encyclopedia of developer's resources going over everything from level design, Textures, Lighting, Level Design, etc.
And as if that wasn't enough Epic ALSO made their own video tutorials just as an added convenience to all the future game devs out there.
12. Unity Engine
Of course, we're going to mention Unity Engine!
It's more or less the 2ND most popular game engine out there, but there are a few things you should know about Unity:
A) Generally speaking, Unity is not as powerful or versatile as UDK...long story, short it's not as good.
B) But it's also easier to learn and is considered by many to be a better choice for new game developers.
Other than that, there's not really many differences between the two as far as the tutorials go. It's the same old pattern.
The official tutorials themselves are going to be the best free resource, there's a huge community, and blah blah blah. You guys get the point now.
OH and obviously it's free to use...as long as you're not trying to make an actual profit off of it.
13. CryEngine
OK last gaming related one, I promise.
Anyways, CryEngine is another one of the big competitors out there for gaming engines. The noticeable difference between CryEngine, UDK, and Unity is that CryEngine is a more PHOTO-REALISTIC engine that frequently pushes the boundaries of modern hardware with a rather steep learning curve and is known to be more unforgiving of mistakes than the other two.
Again, we find the same deal here with the best online tutorials, once again, offered by CryTek themselves.
NOTE: that when I said CryEngine is catered more to seasoned developers I meant it, you can tell just by looking at the tutorials even, the website was not designed for someone who has no idea what they're doing. Also, I should probably mention that CryEngine is technically the least popular of the 3 and definitely has the smallest community and least amount of free resources out there.
14. Puppy Training
Guys, let's all admit it. This last one is the single-most valuable and important thing on this list.
I mean, come on...it's PUPPIES!!! Who doesn't like puppies? No one! That's who.
OK time to get serious.
For anyone who's ever had the joy of owning a puppy or dog you know that with the good comes the bad. The bad in this case, being house-breaking/potty-training a puppy. It can be quite a hassle and requires a LOT of time, patience, and dog behavior know-how.
Many dog owners simply opt to pay for a trainer, and while that's certainly an effective method for some it's just simply not an option for others. The rest of us have to make do with ourselves.
If that's you then check out The Housebreaking Bible!
It's a free online guide to shortcuts and hacks in dog training, and will leave your floors and carpets relatively unsullied.
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