The list below is categorized by organization, productivity, tools to stay in touch both on and off campus, and some money management apps. Each link is listed alphabetically within those categories and leads either to the Apple App store download or to a trusted site where you can gain access to the apps.

Organization

1. EasyTask Manager: This app can be run on Mac or Windows, and you can sync multiple computers with EasyTask on your iPhone. Create lists that show you what is due, overdue and completed.
2. Evernote: if you are familiar with Evernote, you know that you can use this site to take notes, create lists, search through images and share your documents. This app is seamlessly synchronized across all the devices and platforms you use, including Evernote for Mac, Evernote Web, and Evernote for Windows.
3. SugarSync: No matter if you use a Mac, PC or both, SugarSync allows you to access all of the files on any of your computers without having a single file stored on your iPhone. This app works in tandem with SugarSync desktop software (Mac or PC) which securely backs up your files online and makes them available to you via your iPhone or iPod Touch. Desktop software comes with a thirty-day free trial.

Productivity

4. Dictionary.com: The favorite online dictionary is available now for your iPhone and iPod touch. The app takes several minutes to install over a connection; however, once downloaded, you gain access to reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com including more than 275,000 definitions and 80,000 synonyms.
5. gFlash+ Flashcards & Tests: Create flashcards from notes and share them with friends using any two-column Google Spreadsheet. Use text, images, foreign language characters and more to create sets that can help you learn anything from chemistry to zoology.
6. Instapaper Free: Save Web pages for offline reading. Great for long articles and blog posts that you find during the day and would like to read, but don’t have the time when you find them.
7. Stanza: This ebook reader is touted as one of the best around, and it’s free to download to your iPhone and iPod Touch. Use it to download from a selection of over 100,000 books and periodicals and read them on your phone.
8. StudyBlue: When paired with a free StudyBlue.com account, users can take their notes, flashcards and other study materials with them wherever they go.
9. Ultimate Thesaurus: Enter any word to get synonyms, antonyms, related and similar words.
10. Verbatim 1.1: Verbatim uses a simple approach to help you memorize texts word for word. Use this app to help memorize monologues, poems, presentations, scripts, speeches and more (great idea for your PhD dissertation final defense!).

Stay in touch

11. Facebook: Stay connected with this app, which provides the same functions you find on Facebook on your desktop. Use your iPhone to start a conversation with Facebook Chat, check your friends’ latest photos and status updates, look up a phone number, or upload your own mobile photos to Facebook while on the go.
12. Free Wi-Fi Finder: JiWire’s Global FREE Wi-Fi app uses your iPhone’s GPS and network triangulation capabilities to locate free Wi-Fi Internet access anywhere in the world.
13. Google Mobile: This link leads to everything Google for your mobile phone, including search, maps, Gmail, YouTube and the new Google Buzz.
14. iLicious: Retrieve all your favorite links, browse bookmarks, tags, network and view your inbox and subscriptions for Delicious with this free app.
15. LinkedIn: Get your professional network on now, well before you enter the workforce or start a career. This social networking site can provide you with a safety net and an open door to interviews if you work it right. Get the latest updates and messages from your network and keep them up-to-date with your status in real-time.
16. Skype: Download this free app to make free Skype-to-Skype calls from any WiFi zone. See who is online, and send and recive instant messages on the go.
17. TweetDeck: This app can prove to be your mobile browser for staying in touch with both Twitter and Facebook. Create groups, search Twitter, manage multiple accounts and post away. Add location to your tweets and sync your existing TweetDeck columns with your desktop.

Off Campus

18. Eventful: Learn about events near you, including the names on the venues. Get email event alerts tailored to your interests and use the iPhone’s and iPod Touch’s location awareness to locate events near you.
19. Pandora Radio: Want to relax? Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a “station” that plays their music and more music like it. Pandora on the iPhone is fully integrated with Pandora on the Web.
20. TripIt Travel Organizer: TripIt Travel Organizer puts all your travel plans right on your iPhone no matter where your travel was booked. Share your itinerary with friends, family and colleagues on TripIt, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
21. YPmobile: With millions of local directory listings and event listings nationwide, you can count on this app to find the most popular businesses, services and events near you or wherever you’re going.

Money Management

22. BigWords: Use this free app to compare all the best textbook stores at once. You may find the cheapest textbook deals on the planet with this tool.
23. Carpool Calculators: Ridesearch.com offers free calculators that can help you to create a carpool, determine how much money you could save in gas by carpooling and to see how much money you would owe on one carpool trip.
24. ClearCheckBook: Manage your finances on the go with this free app. Create an online account first (free) and synch your iPhone entries to your Web account. Never bounce a check again, and create categories and budgets to recognize your current limitations.
25. Local Gas Prices: LocalGas.info provides accurate & up to the minute gas prices for USA and Canada. Compare the best rates for gas any time of the day.

Each link within the categories below has been listed in alphabetical order to show that we do not favor one blog over another.

Studying Abroad

1. Abroad 101: This blog provides a behind-the-scenes look into this study abroad resource.
2. Abroad Scout: This blog is updated about twice per month, with writings that focus on tips and lessons about studying abroad.
3. Glimpse: Supported in part by National Geographic, this blog focuses on student abroad stories.
4. IES Abroad Student Blogs: Enjoy first-hand accounts from students on IES Abroad programs from throughout the world.
5. Intelligent Travel: This blog, offered by National Geographic, provides insights into cultural and sustainable travel experiences.
6. International Student: These blogs and forums provide a resource for students abroad as well as for students who want to study abroad.
7. NAFSA Blog: The world’s largest professional association is dedicated to advancing international education, and their blog reflects this purpose. *
8. StudyAbroad Blogs: Learn more about studying abroad from students who are living the experience. Be sure to visit their links for more information.

Foreign Policy and Education

9. DipNote: This is the official U.S. Department of State Official Blog, a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on foreign policy issues with a focus on learning and education.
10. Every Citizen A Diplomat: This blog speaks to citizen diplomacy, including a section on education and training, and focused on international relations.
11. John Brown’s Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review, Version 2.0: Brown was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service for over two decades, mostly in Eastern Europe.
12. Mountain Runner: Learn more about public diplomacy, strategic communication, and global engagement from Matt Armstrong.

College Resources

13. Learning Across Borders: Although this blog originates from the University of Missouri’s International Center, the blog entries pertain to anyone with interests in global education.
14. University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center: This link leads to the front page of this informative site, with a link on that page to this college’s learning abroad blogs.
15. Wheaton Center for Global Education: Wheaton College (Massachusetts) offers a blog on studying abroad, including resources anyone can use.

eLearning Tech

16. Around the Corner: Miguel Guhlin is all about the transformation of teaching, learning and leadership through strategic technologies.
17. Clive on Learning: Clive is a consultant who is interested in all aspects of technology-based elearning and communications.
18. Dave’s Educational Blog: The focus here is education, post structuralism and the “Rise of the Machines.”
19. eLearning Technology: Tony Karrer’s work in social media, e-Learning and Performance Support has won awards and has led him into engagements at many Fortune 500 companies.
20. In the Middle of the Curve: This blog focuses on technology, eLearning, change management and software training.
21. Kapp Notes: Read topics such as learning, e-learning and the transference of education. *
22. OLDaily: Stephen Downes is known as the “go-to” guy for Open Source, global education strategies and technology.
23. Rick Darby on Learning Technology: Rick manages the teams that provide the assessment, development, and application of the learning technology that supports Orkin University’s wide range of learning endeavors.
24. Scott’s Workblog: This UK blog focuses on Open Source, collaboration and technologies.
25. TechSpectives: TechSpectives is an online community dedicated to the latest topics in technology and education.
26. The Cool Cat Teacher Blog: A perspective on teaching content with new tools and an attitude that teaching is a noble calling.
27. Travlin’ Ed Man: Curt runs “around the world training faculty members and instructors to teach online.” Follow along to catch his expertise online.
28. Weblogg-ed: Technology is part of global education, but so is thinking outside the box. Join Will Richardson in both quests.

News, Research & Analysis

29. Bryan Chapman: Bryan is one of the bloggers at Brandon Hall Research, and his blog focuses on learning strategies in the corporate sector.
30. Cammy Bean’s Learning Visions: Join Cammy, the VP of learning design at Kineo, to learn more about her perspectives on eLearning and instructional design.
31. Clark Aldrich On Simulations and Serious Games: Learn about how and why the visual and kinesthetic nature of games make them the perfect choices for global audiences and organizational or community learning.
32. Eduwonk: This blog is part of Education Sector, which is an independent research and analysis organization that focuses on education news.
33. GlobalHigherEd: This blog is designed to highlight and then archive information about new developments, resources and analytical networks to track what is happening to the construction of new globalized knowledge/spaces.
34. Global Knowledge Blog: A global blog for global learners, presented by aGlobals – Business Consulting.
35. The Chronicle of Higher Education: This blog/news source covers a broad range of topics on a national and international level.
36. Will at Work Learning: Follow Will Thalhimer’s research-based commentary on learning and performance industry.

Cultural Blogs

37. AIDSPortal: AIDSPortal is a global initiative that aims to facilitate networking among organizations involved with HIV and AIDS response.
38. Fulbright-mtvU Fellows: Fulbright is an outstanding resource in itself, and this blog is an interesting take on global education. Five students were sent around the world to study and promote “the power of music.”
39. Kottke: This blog is a work of art as well as a blog about the liberal arts 2.0.
40. Old Roads Blog: Martyn Smith, assistant professor of religious studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, focuses on Islam and specifically Islam in medieval Cairo.
41. Peer 2 Peer University: This virtual university offers engagements for anyone who cares to interact with this blog.
42. The Little Professor: This blog covers the world on anything Victorian and academic.
43. Travels in the Riel World: This blog provides a place to read about travel and to explore the world from a cross-cultural perspective.
44. Virtual Learning Worlds: Barton Pursel leads readers into the exploration of games and other forms of media in a learning environment.

Resources and Tools

45. Blackboard Blog: This business has an interest in reaching out to a global knowledge community and does so with this blog.
46. International Financial Aid Blog: This blog focuses on financial aid for students who want to study in the U.S. as well as for U.S. students who want to study abroad.
47. International Higher Education Consulting Blog: This blog provides a source for news on international educational exchange and mutual understanding. *
48. KM Consulting Blog: Knowledge Management Online is an Open Source KM system, and this is their blog.
49. Professionalising International Education: This blog, which provides international educational news, is offered by PIER (Professional International Educational Resources).
50. Semantic Web: The best way to gain access to their blogs is from the front page, where you can learn more about data linking for school projects internationally.

Using Kindle’s TextBook Version

One of the best things about Kindle is the fact that it has a TextBook version designed specifically for college students. Instead of buying entire textbooks, which can be very expensive (even for used textbooks), it is possible to to buy licenses to read them on your Kindle. This way, you avoid having to buy textbooks that are a hassle to sell before the next edition comes out.

Another benefit offered by the TextBook version is that it is possible for up to six Kindles to share one account. This means that you can all access the same materials. This makes the Kindle a powerful collaboration tool for study groups and for group projects.

And, finally, it is possible to save money on Internet access when you use the Kindle. Kindle provides free wireless access to an online dictionary, Wikipedia and limited browser functions, on top of your access to textbooks. If you have Gmail, you can even keep up with your inbox using the Kindle. This can save you money, since you don’t need to access the Internet via expensive subscriptions. You can supplement with the school’s computer labs, and use your hard earned cash for something else.

College Friendly Features of the Kindle

We’re still waiting for the Kindle 3 to emerge, but even without it, there are a number of advanced features that can help you get better value out of your Kindle as a college student, no matter the version you are using. Some of the features associated with the Kindle:

1. Free Books: Kindle offers a number of free books that you can read for free, without having to pay for a license.
2. Clipping Extractor Macro: This is for Windows, and is a macro for MS Word. It allows you to sort through the clippings.txt file in such a way that you can extract notes and highlights from a particular book. This can be very useful indeed when it comes to studying.
3. Weekly Planner: You can keep track of your weekly appointments, assignments and other important information when you use the free Kindle Weekly Planner. There is also a Kindle calendar that can help you keep track of the date, and important items of interest. Stay organized while in school, and keep track of all your due dates.
4. InstaPaper: Keep track of things you want to read later, whether you are doing research or just looking for something interesting to read in your down time. You can save web pages for later, bookmarking items that might be important for an assignment or paper.
5. Kindle Feeder: Make sure you have access to all of your RSS feeds on your Kindle. This way, you are able to keep up with important news and information.
6. PDF support: Kindle now provides PDF support. This is very helpful to students who want to be able to peruse papers and other information in this format. You can search through a PDF, circling what you are looking for, and you can rotate the angle for better viewing.
7. Applescript: If you want to read a newspaper or magazine article that has been posted online, you can use Applescript to send it to your Kindle. This lets you save something helpful that you have come across for later, and carry it along with you. Perfect for research projects, media projects and other related homework assignments.

Kindle Resources

You want to be on top of the latest Kindle news, as well as find new ways to use your Kindle to its fullest potential. Keep track of the latest happenings, and learn a number of helpful tricks and hacks to make your Kindle more user friendly during your college experience.

1. Kindle 2 Tips + Kindle 2 Hack List: Learn a number of shortcuts, hacks and tips that can make using your Kindle a snap. Get what you need faster with the tips from this list.
2. Kindle 2: 10 Things You Should Know: Get a primer in what you need to know about the Kindle 2 from PC Magazine.
3. Kindle Buzz: Stay up to date on the latest Kindle news, looking at new features, applications and tricks to help you use your Kindle better.
4. MobileRead: This forum site can help you learn about the latest happenings in the world of Kindle, and provides helpful solutions to problems, as well as allowing you to share your insight into Kindle.
5. A Kindle World Blog: How-tos are the greatest asset on this blog. You can read about hacks, as well as learn about some of the capabilities you probably didn’t know the Kindle had.
6. Massively Parallel Procrastination: You can read about a number of hacks for use with the Kindle. Jesse Vincent also includes hacks for Perl and other technical products and services.
7. Kindle Chronicles: This is a weekly podcast that shares news and information on all things Kindle. You can get helpful insights on using your Kindle, solving problems, and get updates on new versions.

Customer Support

If you are looking for some customer service and support, you can go right to the source. Here are some resources that can help you connect with people who can help you solve your Kindle related problems.

1. Amazon Kindle Support: This help site can help you find answers to your problem on your own, or put you in contact with specialists who can help.
2. Kindle Helpdesk: Sort through common problems and learn how to fix them, as well as get the latest news and information.
3. GetSatisfaction.com: This site offers community-based customer support for the Kindle, and provides interesting discussions.

One outreach method that many colleges are trying includes the student blog on admissions pages. Students are recruited to talk about their lives on campus on blogs, so new college recruits can read what it might be like to live on campus and attend that college. In other cases, the college dean may provide that outreach, and in other cases still, departments within a college may blog about their activities. In all cases, the blog (short for Weblog, or online journal) provides insight into the college and into the perspectives of the person or persons who write and edit those blogs. Whether these blogs help to retain students in a happy co-existance with the college throughout the length of the degree course is unknown.

But, in an attempt to share such outreach from various colleges and universities across the U.S., we searched for fifty official university blogs to share with readers. We narrowed our search down to those blogs with an “.edu” domain extension to show that the blogs were official and that the writing is at least sanctioned, if not hosted, by the college or university. Also, all chosen blogs were updated within the past month, a choice that showed that the college or university is active in maintaining this type of outreach.

The following list is divided into categories, and each link within those categories is listed in alphabetical order. This method shows readers that we do not prefer one official university blog over another.

Private Colleges

1. Carnegie Mellon News Blog: This Pittsburgh school has offered information on academics, research, student life, athletics and local news since 2006.
2. Cornell: This link takes you to the student blogs in the admissions office corner. While these blogs can familiarize you with the school from a student perspective, Dr. Kathie T. Hodge’s Cornell Mushroom Blog is a favorite among mycologists.
3. Exapnding Horizons: This is Trinity University’s information literacy blog that focuses on library technology and other higher education projects.
4. MIT Admissions Blogs: This is a well-populated student blog list, and MIT also offers a variety of other blogs such as their MIT Grad Blog and their Community Server, which serves up blogs, ideas and questions from and to the MIT community at large.
5. Notre Dame College Blog: This list provides links to students who chronicle their experiences at this private college.
6. Real Life @ Bradeis: This updated blog is provided by students, faculty and staff at Brandeis in Waltham, Massachusetts.
7. Stanford University: Located in California, Stanford allows blogs from students, faculty, staff and alumni, listed here along with tags for easy searches.
8. The Vandy Admissions Blog: Black and Gold bloggers share news, notes and inside information at this blog for Vanderbilt in Tennessee.
9. Tufts University Photography Blog: Tufts provides outreach in various forms, and this photography blog provides one different outlet that might appeal to someone who wants to major in photography.
10. University of Chicago: This link goes to a blogroll, where you can find blogs from students, staff, professors and from the Chicago Press.

Public Colleges

11. Binghamton University Admissions Student Blog: Binghamton University’s Admissions Blog is written by current students for students considering, applying, transferring and enrolling.
12. Blogs at the University of Florida Libraries: This page lists all the blogs offered by the University of Florida libraries and focus on technology as well as library science, news and document projects.
13. Ice 09 Blog: CIRES’ Mark McCaffrey,a featured speaker at the conference, provides updates and insights direct from Denmark. When the conference is over, you can return to the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Climate Change Blog.
14. LSU Libraries Special Collections Blog: While Louisiana State University hosts several blogs, the one that stays updated is this library blog that focuses on its special collections department.
15. Michigan State University President’s Blog: Lou Anna K. Simon offers perspectives from her office, and this university’s libraries also offer items of potential interest to government documents librarians or government information managers in Michigan in the Red Tape Blog.
16. OSU Admissions Blog: Oregon State University imparts some flavorful entries focused upon school activities, news and other information pertinent to students.
17. St. Mary’s College of Maryland Admissions Blog: Although this blog focuses on admissions, it also serves as a gateway to events and other news.
18. The Berkeley Blog: This blog, one of several produced by University of Berkeley, California, provides “provocative thinking” as well as news on various topics from arts to science and technology.
19. UGA Libraries News & Events: While sports plays a big part of the University of Georgia lifestyle, the libraries have a toehold on the blog world here.
20. University of Southern Mississippi President’s Blog: Mary Dayne offers advice, news, event photographs and more on this active blog, which also highlights her involvement with student activities.

Christian Colleges

21. ‘76 Blog: Colorado Christian University offers a blog with topics that range from abortion to Washington.
22. College Souls: Colorado Christian University (CCU) students learn how to use the Internet to spread the gospel.
23. Gordon College: Notes Along the Way is a Christian Blog sponsored by the Office of College Communications at Gordon. Gordon is a multidenominational Christian college.
24. Oklahoma Christian University: This page holds several active blogs provided by students, faculty and staff.
25. Oral Roberts University: Oral Roberts University is on fire, and they’ll tell you about it in this blog, along with updates for student activities and more.
26. Providence Christian College: Learn more about college life at this California college through these student blogs.
27. Regent University: Located in Virginia Beach, this college also is known for its founder, Pat Robertson. This link takes you to a list of undergraduate blogs, most of which are hosted off-site.
28. The Working Class: This blog is offered by faculty and staff at North Park University, a Christian school located in Chicago.

Business School Blogs

29. Babson: This Massachusetts business college offers a news blog that also focuses on business attributes.
30. Columbia Business School Public Offering: This blog is defined as “a natural extension” of Columbia Business School’s longstanding tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship.
31. Darden School of Business: Dean Bruner provides his outlook from this University of Virginia business school for MBAs, PhDs and executives.
32. Graziadio Voice: This is the business student blog at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.
33. My IU Careers: Although part of a larger public university (Indiana University, Bloomington), this blog speaks to career development in the arts and science disciplines.
34. Yale School of Management: Members of the Yale School of Management community author this blog, which focuses on business and society.

Law School Blogs

35. George Mason Law Library Blog: This blog is provided by the Law Library at George Mason University of Law.
36. Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog: This blog contains commentary on current issues of law and public policy by faculty members and others associated with Marquette University Law School in Wisconsin.
37. Michigan State University Intellectual Property & Communications Law Program Blog: Expect discussion on issues in copyright, patent, trademark and Internet law.
38. University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog: The goal of the University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog is to promote dialogue among faculty and the larger Law School community, including students, alumni, colleagues at Chicago and other universities and the general public.
39. University of Illinois College of Law Faculty Blogs: Although the faculty blogs off the .edu sit, the University of Illinois (Champaign) does host the faculty listing on site.
40. Weblogs at Harvard Law School: This blog is provided by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University as a free service to the Harvard community.

Historically Black Colleges

41. EagleBlog: This blog belongs to North Carolina Central State University and offers updated news. You also can find first-year blogs from this college, established in 1910 by Dr. James E. Shepard.
42. Paine College Blog: Pain, located in Augusta, George, is a church-related liberal arts college that provides education to future leaders.
43. Philander Smith College Blog: Philander Smith College is a private, residential, co-educational, four-year undergraduate liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist church and a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). The author is Dr. Kimbrough, college president.
44. Theology 1120: This blog belongs to Xavier University of Louisiana, a Catholic university and historically Black.

Women’s Colleges

45. Bryn Mawr Blogs: Students, faculty and staff can produce a blog if they are a Bryn Mawr community member or if they have a Haverford or Swarthmore email address.
46. Mount Holyoke Athletics: This link produces headlines from all athletic blogs. If you want to focus on Lacrosse, you can read blogs from the Lacrosse athletes on another page.
47. Simmons Community Weblogs: This Boston university launched a beta site for Simmons community members to blog, announce events and more.
48. Smith College Blogs: Nominated for the WPMU (WordPress MU) Awards, the blogs at Smith focus on topics such as tech, social news, campus events, H1N1 and Mac users from Smith students, staff and faculty.
49. Sweet Briar College President’s Blog: Jo Ellen Parker is a novice blogger and novice president at this Virginia college. She is using this blog to reach out to students and the public. Several other blogs are offered from professors and students such as Sarah’s Blog, an international relations major studying in South Africa.
50. Wellesley College Student Blogs: Learn about three women’s experiences as students at Wellesley.

MIT and other schools are up front about these open source offerings – no one can earn credits from taking the courses, nor can they use the courses to claim a degree. But, when MIT and other colleges opened their virtual gates to allow the average person to get a glimpse behind their ivory towers, these colleges became well known for their altruism and transparency. Open Courseware has become a marketing tool, as it helps schools that use this option to become mroe well known in a local and global community.

That said, the following list represents a handful of hundreds of open courseware initiatives that now exist. The following fifty collections are from English-speaking universities and colleges, located across the U.S. to England, Canada and Australia. Additionally, the list points to open courseware projects such as directories and primary source projects offered by various universities and colleges.

The list is divided into categories and each link is listed in alphabetical order within those categories. This method shows our readers that we do not favor one collection over another.

American University and College Collections

1. Center for the Study of the Public Domain: Duke Law offers a vast array of materials devoted to their intellectual property rights program.
2. College of Eastern Utah’s OpenCourseWare: From accounting to psychology, this site contains a number of subjects to absorb.
3. Columbia Interactive: Columbia University offers a database of selected digital learning resources developed by this college.
4. Connexions: Rice University offers a rich resource of learning modules that focus on a wide range of subject matter.
5. Fulbright School OpenCourseWare: Find courseware here that leads into 2011 classes on topics such as microeconomics for public policy, rural transformation and many more global and policy courses.
6. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: If you want to find updated courseware, lectures, articles and more on global health issues, look no further than this site.
7. MIT OpenCourseWare: This is where the OpenCourseWare initiative gained steam, and you’ll see why when you learn more about the courses offered by this learning institution.
8. MSU OpenCourseWare: Michigan State University offers courses online in food safety, horse management, international business and planning and zoning.
9. Notre Dame OpenCourseWare: Feel free to take advantage of courses that range from Africana studies to theology at this site.
10. Open Learning Initiative: Carnegie Mellon offers OLI, a site where courses that foster interactivity, such as chemistry, economics and physics, are featured.
11. Open.Michigan: The University of Michigan is on board with their open courseware project aimed at various courses from engineering to public health.
12. Sofia: Offered by Foothills College, this project contains courses that range from creative typography to musicianship.
13. Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE): Stanford now offers some of its most popular engineering classes free of charge to students and educators around the world.
14. TU Delft OpenCourseWare: This open courseware projects focuses on what this school does best – technology, including water management, microelectronics and much more.
15. Tufts OpenCourseWare: Tufts offers various courses from their schools of dental medicine, meicine, nutrition science, veterinary medicine and much more.
16. UCIrvine OpenCourseWare: This project, offered by the University of California at Irvine, features courses in business, physical and social sciences and health.
17. UMass Boston OpenCourseWare: The University of Massachusetts at Boston offers courseware in topics such as biology, history and public policy.
18. Utah State University: This college’s open courseware site features a variety of instruction from anthropology to university studies and wildland resources.
19. UW Online Learning: The University of Washington offers courses online, but beware – some courses require fees, while others are part of an open courseware project.
20. Webcast.Berkeley: The University of California at Berkeley offers Webcasts of current and archived courses, prominent speakers and on-campus events.
21. Weber State University: This OpenCourseWare project contains courses in subjects such as automotive technology, criminal justice, information systems and technology and more.
22. Western Governors University: This project contains various courses listed under information technology and liberal arts.

UK, Canadian and Australian Initiatives

23. Athabasca University: Canada’s Athabasca University offers online courses arranged by undergraduate and graduate level. The range of courses is too large to list here.
24. Capilano University: This Canadian project features courses in subjects that range from anthropology to philosophy and studio art.
25. Gresham College: Based in London, this site offers lectures, events, audio and video that enhances their offerings in various subjects.
26. Open University: This popular open courseware site provides lectures, learning modules and more on a wide range of subjects.
27. Oxford University Mathematics OpenCourseWare: This project focuses on topics that range from introductions to pure mathematics and complex numbers to algebra, geometry and logic.
28. Peoples Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni): This project is focused on building public health learning through an e-based model for those who work in low- to middle-income countries. The education is equivalent to master’s degree level.
29. University of Nottingham: the University of Nottingham provides lectures on a variety of topics as well as learning resources.
30. University of Southern Queensland: Available courses at this site include an introduction to tourism, technology and society, general science and creation of interactive multimedia.

University Streaming Media

31. Buffalo State: The State University of New York at Buffalo provides lectures and forums through iTunes as well as through Podcast RSS.
32. Core Curriculum Video Lecture Series: the University of Connecticut’s School of Medicine provides the entire core curriculum program by video at this site.
33. Knowledge@Wharton: This University of Pennsylvania Web site provides updated lecture series on topics that range from finance and investment to technology management.
34. Landon Lecture Series: Kansas State University presents a series of videos on public issues.
35. Lewis & Clark Law School Podcasts: This list is constantly updated and archived, providing listeners with a broad range of lectures on a wide variety of topics.
36. London School of Economics and Political Science Podcasts: Follow lectures and events from this school from 2006 through 2009. This list is constantly updated and archived.
37. Pipes: This site offers OpenCourseWare podcasts from MIT, Princeton and Berkeley.
38. Swarthmore News: You can find a wide range of subject matter on this list, which includes an abstract for each podcast as well as a full lecture.
39. UCLA Instructional Media Production: Take advantage of live Webcasts of important campus events.
40. University of British Columbia Podcasts: Gain access to a wide variety of UBC-related digital content, from lectures to student-created music.
41. University of Virginia Podcasts and Webcasts: Subjects range from academic lectures to the Virginia Festival of the Book.
42. Washington College of Law Podcasts: Enjoy events, speakers, lectures and more through this site’s selections.

Other Tools

43. Archive Grid: This portal offers a vital key to social and family research in archives located around the world.
44. British Academy Portal: Use this portal to find specific courses in humanities and social sciences. It is designed as an entry point for higher education and research.
45. Google Scholar: Supplement any open course project with abstracts and full documents to support your studies through this search engine.
46. Internet Archives Open Educational Resources: Explore the links to lectures, OpenCourseWare and forums offered by this resource.
47. OpenCourseWare Finder: If you’d rather search for a specific course rather than go through numerous collections, use this search engine to find that course and its specific location through links.
48. Repositories of Primary Sources: Use this site for research, citations and more for repositories located throughout the world.
49. Research Channel: Watch videos produced by top universities on topics that range from the arts to social sciences.
50. World Lecture Hall: Sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin, this site is your entry point to free online course materials from around the world.

Archive Grid
ArchiveGrid is an important center where collection of historical documents, personal papers and family histories is restored as to receive archives around the world. It has collection of nearly a million descriptions as contributed to it by libraries, museums and archives.

British Academic Portal
It is the portal of British academy which consist directory of online resources in the humanities and social sciences. It aims to provide excellent high level of educational level by serving and providing resources at its pages. This British Academy’s directory of online resources in the humanities and social sciences is designed as an entry point to provide resources for people working in higher education and research.

DOAJ
It is the Directory of Open Access Journals that provides free, full and qualified controlled scientific and scholarly journals. It has relatively journals in all subjects and languages. There are nearly 4345 journals in the directory. Its 1649 article level journals have nearly 312508 articles in the DOAJ service.

Economics Network
UK’s academy of higher education’s network of economics provide publications, events, funding opportunities and other resources to support University teachers of economics. From the website that is leading education site nearly 6000 documents are downloaded by human users, daily.

Intute
This is a free online service that helps you to learn about the best online resource for the purposes of your studies and learning. Among million of resources as available on Internet, it has the most specialized and reviewed content. The Intute consortium consists of University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, Heriot-Watt University, The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Nottingham and University of Oxford

Librarian’s Internet Index
Librarians’ Internet Index (LII) is a publicly-funded website and weekly newsletter that consists care fully selected websites covering news and events on topics like current events  and issues, holiday and seasons, tools for information users, human interest and more.

Merlot
Merlot is an advanced searchable collection online learning materials catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services. The purpose of this online collection of information is to develop into a prominent online community where faculty, staff and students around the world can share their learning material.

Open Course Ware Finder
OCW Finder let students search for free online courses called Open Course Wares. It also facilitates other Universities and other OCW providers to get their course register with it. The OCW Finder was developed at Center for Open Sustainable Learning at Utah State University and the project of development was funded by Andrew W Mellon Foundation.

Voice of the Shuttle
Started in 1994, as a suite of static Web pages VOS serves content dynamically on the net that is offered in form of free resources for learning on subjects ranging from humanities to subjects related to social sciences.

Christopher Penn: Co founder of Podcamp, he provides information on financial indicators and courses in Finance and Online Marketing, daily. He also provides tips on online marketing too. To know him more you can get into reading of like christppherspenn.com, The Twitter Power Guide.

John Abyrne: Offering tips and advice on business, finance and journalism, he is Editor-in-Chief at a national business magazine’s website. More one can understand him as Digital Journalism Advocate.

Jeremiah Owyang: The Senior Analyst in Social Computing at Forrester Research he provides free information on Social Media Web Strategy. He is also an effective salsa doctor too.

Beth Kanter: On Twitter, she delivers lectures on non profit and its relation with social media for better co-ordination and operability. She tells about use of social media as mean for better connectivity with patients, families, caregivers and potential doctors.

Ann Handley: Being as a Chief Content Officer she has more to deliver on Content Marketing and has picked up Social Media as a method to get connected with her audience on marketing issues and topics.

Chris Brogan: As a New Media proponent, he is an expert campaigner of Online Business communication.

Sarah Evans: The founder of the community #journochat her lectures and references are filled with high end information on communications, New Media and Community Building.

Tara “missrogue” Hunt: With specialization in marketing to existing communities she provides lectures and notes on Online Community Marketing and Personal Branding.  To read her more one can go to horsepigcow.com and Whuffie Factor.

Jennifer Leggio: She is an active blogger expresses her ideas prominently on Social Media, Technology and communications.

Jay Rosen: Professor at NYU Journalism School he delivers and shares his learning on Journalism and New Media.

There are some universities that are always striving to provide the best online studies and because they remain reputable, they never miss places in the top ten best online universities. The universities that are in the top ten positions at the moment are Kaplan University, University of Phoenix, Capella University, American Intercontinental University, Liberty University, Baker College Online, Devry University, Grand Canyon University, Westwood College Online and Boston University.

Online university rankings are just meant to assist students in selecting a university but you still have the responsibility of looking up the institution on your own and see the services and courses it provides before you make a decision. A university may be ranked number one but it may not provide the course you want the way you would like to have it hence you don’t have to select it just because it is highly ranked. This can, however, help you in comparing since you already have the best and now it’s just to select based on your own criteria.

To come up with the rankings, there are many things that are used to compare the institutions. They may be ranked according to the quality of their programs but sometimes the researchers may use the university resources that aid in learning or the number of student enrolments. You should find out the research methodology used because what was used to come up with the ranking may not be what you are looking for in a university to study in hence you shouldn’t rely so much on the rankings. The ranking is also a way to encourage the universities to aim to provide the best.