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The Learning Resource CenterBack to School!

So you’ve been playing around with your tux box for quite some time now. Experimenting with tar balls, the terminal, packages, distros, etc. may now be a part for your daily routine. If you remember, we talked about the existing career opportunities with Linux in a two-post article, few days back. A lot of youngsters admired that nibble of information. Keeping them in mind, I decided to come up with something that would emphasize more on learning the concepts rather than just trying things out randomly. (I know it’s fun though!)

At this stage, or may be sometime in the near future if you plan to get your Linux knowledge a formal nurturing, an online course may be something you would be interested in! These courses would be beneficial for people who have time and interest to master the art of Linux step by step. You may try them out and come up with a feedback as comments to this post.

1. Linux.org: They have three levels of course modules: Linux Online hosts these courses considering the students at all levels. You can graduate to the next level, soon after you’re comfortable with one. The best part if that you can carry out the learning process without you having a need to register or download any software whatsoever. Apart from the course material, you can get a lot of how-to’s & tips to make you more efficient as a Linux guy.
   1. Beginner Level
   2. Intermediate Level
   3. Advanced Level
2. Novel OpenCourseWare Project: Novell offers a good learning platform with free Linux courses on their OpenCourseWare project. These courses can easily be accessed via the website without having the need to register. Product documentation, softwares, tips, etc. come assorted for free!
   1. Linux Enterprise server 10 Course
   2. Novell Linux Desktop Starter Course
   3. Certified Linux Professional 10 Course
3. IBM - Linux Professional Institute: The links mentioned below provide an array of Linux tutorials, courtesy IBM. These tutorials are intended to help the candidates prepare for the Linux Professional Institute(LPI) Exam. One needs to register before accessing the material, but it’s free for all!
   1. Linux Kernel tutorial
   2. Linux System Startup tutorial
   3. Linux File Serving & Sharing Tutorial
4. Shuttleworth Foundation’s - Learn Linux Project: It is an Open Source initiative backed by the Shuttleworth Foundation. These courses are again free and can be accessed without any registration for free.
   1. Linux Fundamentals Course
   2. System Administration Course
   3. Network Administration Course
5. VTC University: VTC University is well known for a lot of computer software training courses. Most of them need you to pay for an access. But VTC offers free Linux training material. You can access a few free video tutorials and can view them on QuickTime or Flash!
   1. Introduction
6. About.com’s Linux courses: About.com is a well known website and form a part of the NYT. They offer a number of online courses for free. One can get the course material delivered directly to an email account on day-to-day or weekly basis, depending on the course! The website also hosts a lot of how-to’s, tutorials and a forum for Linux enthusiasts.
   1. Linux Desktop 101: 14 Weekly Lessons
7. Begin Linux: Begin Linux also provides free Linux courses. You may have to register for a few courses. However, Guest login is allowed for most of the courses. This would mean no registration glitches. The courses are well designed and include textual as well as video content.
   1. Linux Commands Course
   2. Suse Desktop Course
   3. PC LinuxOS 2007 Course
8. University of California at Davis - Professor Norm Matloff’s Tutorial Center for Linux/Unix: The link below leads to a great Linux and Unix tutorial center. All the tutorials are pretty much detailed and are available for free to both students and non-students of the university. There is need for any registration.
   1. Linux Tutorials
9. The Linux Tutorial: This website was started by author & systems admin Jay Mohr. He maintains a lot of free Linux tutorials on the website. Apart from the course material, one can find some good articles, glossary and a forum. All for free!
   1. Linux Basics
   2. Installing and Upgrading Linux
10. Linuxtopia - Linux Security for Beginners: It is a great learning website for beginners who wish to learn Linux security. It provides an in-depth knowledge of various concepts involving security of a *nix system. The left-menu bar allows easy navigation to other Linux courses as well. A must visit for a Linux security enthusiast.

These were a few free online course websites for Linux learners. One of these may suit you the best! Stay tuned for more.

Praval, the author of this article is available as a freelance writer and technology blogger. He writes reviews and stuffs related to Wordpress, Linux, Information marketing, Open Source Software, Life hacks and technology in general. He also provides information marketing solutions to his clients. You may reach him at Praval.com