News University: FREE Courses

That's right, this online university offers free courses; all you have to do is become a registered user of their site/services. I'm very impressed with what they have to offer already, and they've only just begun!

NewsU is committed to providing interactive, inexpensive courses that appeal to journalists at all levels of experience and in all types of media. Officially launched in April 2005, NewsU offers an innovative approach to helping journalists enhance their skills.

From today's eLearning Guru newsletter:

Although NewsU.org is designed for professional journalists, I think many e-learning designers will find the free courses of value. They include courses on interview techniques, clear writing, color and design, use of photography, etc.

Here's just one example. The Writer's Workbench: 50 Tools You Can Use

This collection of writing tools will help you strengthen new work and diagnose stories you have already written. The self-directed course groups tools into four sections:

• nuts and bolts, including word choice and sentence structure;
• blueprints to create architecture for your stories;
• special effects to refine your writing voice;
• and useful habits to help you be a more confident writer.

Each tool features exercises to help you apply what you’ve learned. Use the tools to help build your skills or as reference to keep your writing sharp.