Since I began my Ph.D., something that has been brought up at different points by several individuals is that graduate students are expected to teach themselves skills and content beyond what is offered in their formal coursework. There are many fantastic short workshops, week-long courses and online webinars available through various organizations. However, their pricing often starts in the hundreds of dollars and can even go up into the thousands. For many graduate students, this is simply not financially feasible.

Luckily, there are resources available at no cost to the user.

Below are some of my favorites:

YouTube

Some may scoff at this resource, but there is a wealth of valuable knowledge on this platform. From academic writing strategies, to demystifying the grant proposal process, to how to use statistical software packages, YouTube has an array of topics relevant to academia. Here are some dos and don’ts when using YouTube:

1. When searching for content, do not overlook channels by institutions or professors from outside of the United States.
2. Do not judge a video by its visual quality or age. Some of the best advice and techniques I have picked up have been from slightly grainy videos or professors merely standing in front of chalk boards. I tend to shy away from the videos that have lots of obvious editing done and color added.
3. Do search for your favorite or well-known professors in the field. You will be surprised how many of them have content available on the site.
4. Do check out official university accounts. The University of Chicago Social Sciences channel (UChicago Social Sciences) has some of the best videos I have watched on academic writing.
5. Do watch talks and workshops from visiting professors. When institutions host guest speakers, they often record their talks. Sometimes they will post them to their official YouTube channel, which means individuals like you and I can access them without being formally affiliated with their institution. For example, the University of Texas at El Paso (utepsonmultimedia) hosted Dr. Paul Silvia, author of How to Write A Lot, over 8 years ago. His two-hour talk is available online in two-parts, where he shares many of the ideas presented in his book.

Faculty Focus

Faculty Focus is a website and free newsletter aimed at educators (www.facultyfocus.com). Each week, three articles from their blog, written by college instructors and instructional designers, are emailed to subscribers. There is paid content available too, including short videos and seminars. However, all their short blog articles from the last ten years are available online through their free subscription. (Pro tip – if you are looking to add to your CV, submit something to their blog. Entries only have to be between 900 and 1200 words, and the review process is just 5-6 weeks).

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

MOOCs are free online courses that allow for unlimited participation. There are several platforms through which you can access MOOCs. Two popular ones are edX and Coursera. Institutions such as the University of California—Berkeley, Yale  and the University of Michigan; in addition to many international ones, offer courses . (Pro tip – these courses often have high enrollment numbers, but only a small percentage of participants actually finish the courses. Enroll with a friend to have some peer support and accountability when completing a MOOC).

Adobe Education Exchange

Adobe Education Exchange (https://edex.adobe.com/) offers free, self-paced courses and workshops for educators who wish to incorporate digital design and creativity in their classrooms. However, they assume participants already have access to their products. Each course includes an optional assignment. If participants complete the assignment, they will receive a digital badge and a certificate of course completion.

Twitter

I LOVE Twitter. One of my top five CliftonStrengths is input. Thus, I enjoy collecting and absorbing information. I like Twitter because it forces users to be concise, allowing them to share valuable ideas and information without a lot of fluff or jargon. One account to follow is @AcademicChatter. If you tag this account with a question, they will often retweet it so their 141,000 followers can see it. Many will respond. Examples of questions I have seen in the past are “What citation managers do you use?” and “What is the best way to respond to feedback when you have a revise and resubmit?” You should also follow faculty and researchers within your specific discipline and related disciplines. You never know when someone feels compelled to drop some knowledge about how to navigate the unspoken rules of the academy.

So, there you have it. My top five free professional development resources. As a student at Texas A&M University, we have access to many more resources, such as Linkedin Learning. However, these five are all resources available to you at no cost, which you can use at any point in your career. Feel free to drop your favorite resources in the comments below!

 
Sakina Dixon is a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.