Dr Saheb Sahu
The internet offers numerous websites for general information, free books and certificate and degree courses. Do not believe everything you read in the internet. Do your own digging to find out the sources of information. Generally websites ending in “edu” (education), “gov” (government) and “org” (nonprofit) are more reliable than those ending in “com” (commercial).
Websites for free books
1- Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/)
As a major player in eBook distribution, Amazon offers an effective way to discover free books, particularly for Kindle owners. The Amazon website hosts a section called “Top 100 Free” under the Best Seller List.
2 – Project Gutenberg (https://ww16.gutenburg.org/)
Project Gutenberg, launched in 1971, is the oldest digital library with a collection that includes over 70,000 titles, primarily of classic literature. The site supports multiple formats suitable for various e-readers, including Kindle.
3 – Google Play Books (https://play.google.com/)
Google Play Books offers a solid alternative to Amazon’s Kindle service, featuring a considerable selection of free eBooks. The service also provides free audio books.
4 – Many Books (https://manybooks.net/)
With a collection exceeding 50,000 titles, Many Books offers an extensive range of works from both classic and modern authors.
5 – Open Library (https://openlibrary.org/)
It features books in multiple languages, though availability can vary.
6- Libri Vox (https://librivox.org/)
It is an excellent website for public domain audio books, read by volunteers from around the world.
Digital Library Websites
1 – World Digital library (Library of Congress, USA)— https://www.loc.gov/
2 – Project Gutenberg- https://ww16.gutenburg.org/
3 – Universal Digital Library (ULIB)- http://ulib.isri.cmu.edu/
4 – Google Books – https://books.google.co.in/
5 – National Digital Library of India (NDLI) – https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/
General Information
1 – Wikipedia – https://www.wikipedia.org/
2 – Google – https://www.google.co.in/
3 – Britanica – https://www.britannica.com/
4 – Quora – https://www.quora.com/
5 – Ted Talk – https://www.ted.com/
Science
1 – Scientific American – https://www.scientificamerican.com/
One of the most through resources online for learning and teaching science.
2 – Livescience – https://www.livescience.com/
The website features groundbreaking development in science, space and technology
Philosophy
1 – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – https://plato.stanford.edu/
2 – Lib Guides at Tuft University – https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/
History
Historical information from great speeches to facts about this day in history
Medicine
1 – Center for Disease Control and Prevention – https://www.cdc.gov/
2 – National Institute of Health – https://www.nih.gov/
3 – Mayo Clinic – https://www.mayoclinic.org/
4 – World Health Organization- https://www.who.int/
Learning Websites with accredited and non-accredited
Courses
1 – Coursera – https://www.coursera.org/
7,000 + courses to learn new job skills from industry leaders like Google, IBM, and Meta. Degrees earned through Coursera are typically from accredited institutions.
2 – Edx – https://www.edx.org/
Edx.org offers a wide range of courses from universities and institutions from around the world.
3 – Khan Academy- https://www.khanacademy.org/
Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization that provides free online learning resources in various subjects for students from kindergarten to college level.
4 – Udemy – https://www.udemy.com/
Provides self-paced online courses taught by expert instructors.
5 – Ted Talk – https://www.ted.com/
Ted Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
1- Chat GPT 4.0
2- Gemini by Google. ai.google
3-Open AI
4-Grammarly
Conclusion
Today, the Internet has given us access to all the surviving texts published since the dawn of time- on our cell phones and tablets wherever we are, often free of charge. However, be skeptical of all the free information available in the Internet. Websites ending in “edu” and “org” are more reliable than one ending in “com”. There is a vast library of information available to us in the Internet. Hopefully, we will convert that information into knowledge and wisdom.
Happy Reading!
