The Best Free Training

Below is a list of my 12 favorite posts from 2009. These were either 1) fun to research & write, or 2) particularly useful discoveries that I was eager to share. Some of these were both! Check them out and see what you think. I look forward to your Comments.

• Train Yourself for a Right Brain Workplace: Part 1, Background
• Train Yourself for a Right Brain Workplace: Part 2, Tools & Training
• Study Skills Guide from Education Atlas
• Microsoft’s Office Online Training
• eduFire: Absolute Freedom to Teach and Learn!
• Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Part 1, Jon Kabat Zinn & Mindfulness
• Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Part 2, Free Tools from Jet City Orange
• Anxiety or Rotting Fish? Retool & Give Something New to the World!
• Worth a Second Look: The Science of Happiness
• One Dozen Free Yoga Classes to Go!
• Stocking stuffers? Why not stuff an iPod or MP3 player with free learning challenges?
• The Best Free Training Named One of “100 Best Self-Education Sites for Switching Careers”

On The Best Free Training, we’ve posted lots of reviews of free training and educational resources for kids of all ages, from pre-school through college.  Here’s the 2009 update of our Kid Stuff Collection.

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Would you like to improve your mental or spiritual health? (“Spiritual” is used here in the broadest possible sense; no religious perspectives are advocated.) There are loads of great free training and educational opportunities that can help you recharge your emotional batteries. Below is a complete list of those we reviewed on this blog.

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Are you looking for a new job?  Is it time to start thinking about developing new skills, getting some additional education, or simply acquiring a broader perspective? There are lots of great free training opportunities out there that will enable you to do all these things. And we’ve reviewed many of them on this blog. Below is a complete list.

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Let’s face it: The holidays can be a real test of our mental health and well-being. For a few days (or if you’re “lucky,” a couple of weeks), we find ourselves outside our comfortable work routines and spending time with family members and friends we might see only once a year. If your family is like most, there are all sorts of emotional undercurrents running through these reunions.  Ancient roles, inescapable expectations, historic feuds, and long-running issues pollute what could be a fairly happy time — if only we could figure out how to connect to our own (and subsequently others’) happiness.

In the last couple of years I’ve spent a fair chunk of time exploring the topic of happiness. And here’s the great news: I am absolutely certain that you can (if you spend a little effort trying) teach yourself and your family group to be happier and to interact more positively. In this post, I share some of my recent podcasts that can get you started. I hope you find them valuable. And… HAPPY (Yes, Happy!) HOLIDAYS!!

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Topic: Basic Business, Managerial, and Workplace Effectiveness Skills
Format: Collection of online courses by many different publishers (free registration required)
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

The LatitudeU website, which offers online courses from many different publishers, continues to expand its catalog of free and pay-per-course online courses.  One of our favorite LatitudeU publishers is Global Mindset, whose courses are short, no-nonsense, yet quite well designed.

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Topic: Filling an iPod or MP3 player with free learning materials as a holiday gift
Format: Collection of links and info
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Here’s an idea for a low-cost, high-value holiday gift: Instead of stuffing a stocking, get a bargain iPod or MP3 player and fill it with free learning challenges. Then you’ll be giving one of the most valuable gifts of all: the gift of helping someone learn something new and expand their world!

In this post, we show you how to find a good, low-cost MP3 player and how you can fill it with free learning challenges on just about any topic you can imagine.

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