Who knew that learning could be so much fun? Using the games below, individuals from the ages of pre-K to adulthood can learn social skills, school subjects, computer literacy and so much more while having fun. The trick, is to try a variety of games, rather than getting hooked on just one game. That way, you can build a variety of skills as well.

The following games are online and they are free to use. Some need to be downloaded, and some games ask for parental or teacher guidance (or both). The games are listed alphabetically within each category by site or name game. Have fun!

For Kids and Parents

Most of the games below are suited for home play, often with parental help or guidance (K-12).

1. Club Penquin: This virtual world, offered by Disney, is designed specifically for kids and parents and it’s free. Special features may require a membership.
2. Education Place: Houghton Mifflin, the textbook folks, provide six games for students to play that help with speech, language, geography, math and spelling.
3. Game Classroom: What a great way to help kids with homework. This site scours the Web for the most trustworthy educational games for kids to learn skills in a range of subject matter.
4. Game Goo: Ranging from beginner to advanced, these games teach young children coordination and basic skills.
5. KinderWeb: If you’re seeking a game to play at home with preschool-aged children, try this site.
6. Learning Games for Kids: These games provide preschool and elementary foundations for learning.
7. Lulilab: This site allows young people to become creative as they build homepages, write blogs and interact with community.
8. National Geographic Kids: Learn geography, history, language and math skills with these games, videos, activities and more designed for younger folks (and interesting for many older folks, too).
9. PBS Kids: Encourage kids at home to be more active and focused with the games and videos provided by Public Broadcasting.
10. Play Kids Games: Aimed at ages pre-K through middle school, Play Kids Games offers ways for kids to discover their abilities and learn new skills with interactive games.
11. PrimaryGames: Even the adults around here enjoyed “Crazy Taxi.” These games are easy, fun and teach computer literacy as well as language and math skills to all age levels.
12. The Kidz Page: While this site contains the usual fun word and skills games, they also have multi-player games that might be fun for siblings or for parents to join in on the learning.
13. The Problem Site: Numerous free games with skills for language and math.
14. Webkinz: This is a virtual world for kids, where animals are avatars. There is a special parents’ page to help learn how to manage time, technical issues and guidelines for kids.
15. Whyville: This virtual world for kids teaches socialization skills as participants play games that include skills such as learning how to drive. Sponsors include the University of Texas, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Adobe Systems among others.

For Kids, Parents and Teachers

The following sites are suited for the classroom as well as for home play (K-12 and adult participation).

16. ABC Ya! These free games are intended for elementary students to learn on the Web and were approved by certified teachers.
17. Academic Skill Builders: These research-based and standards-aligned free educational math and language arts games can help to engage, motivate, and help teach students.
18. EdHeads: Edheads helps students learn through educational games and activities designed to meet state and national standards.
19. Educational Freeware:
20. FunBrain: Parents, teachers and kids can use these games to help stimulate the brain, create quizzes and build language and math skills.
21. Educational Games: Have fun and learn skills from this site, based upon Nobel Prize-awarded achievements.
22. GameQuarium: The games at this site range from Pre-K to sixth-grade levels, and they focus mainly on math.
23. I Know That: Choose a grade and a subject to play games that focus on those skill levels and learning possibilities.
24. Kaboose: Games on this site come in different difficulty levels and skill sets, from preschoolers through sixth grade.
25. Knowledge Adventure: Parents and teachers can turn to this site to find games that vary by age level, grade level and subject matter.
26. Mr. Nussbaum: Sort games by grade level for students to learn math, language, social studies and more.
27. Playing History: This site aggregates free online historical-learning games. Age levels range widely, but each game is rated for accuracy and for fun.
28. Prongo: Teachers and parents can use this site to keep kids from ages three to twelve entertained and educated.
29. Quest Atlantis: More than 45,000 children in over six continents have participated in this project, which includes ways to act as investigative reporters, environmental scientists and historians who resolve meaningful dilemmas.
30. Quiz Hub: This is a site filled with relevant quizzes for education levels K-12. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the “High School Ace Blog” and more information. While not all fun and games, some quizzes may be necessary to help pass standardized tests.

Multi-User Games

The games below have age levels that range from young adult to adult. These games teach users how to play with team members, skill sets, computer literacy and more. Be aware that some games have warnings for parents of young users.

31. Achaea: This is a text MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) that is highly-rated and that brings arts and literature as well as fantasy play into a team-based environment.
32. Dark Ages: Dark Ages has a deeply developed community with history, lore, philosophy, literature, and art all created by players. This game also includes an intricate political and religious system, so the game is meant for teens and older.
33. Furcadia: This is a complex role-playing multi-user game that offers games, festivals, events and more for teens and adults. According to the site, female players make up over half the population.
34. LambdaMOO: This text-based community is meant for college-level activity or higher. Using a Telnet connection, users can move through various rooms and cultures to meet people and build relationships or to play complex RPGs (role-playing games).
35. Puzzle Pirates: Play twenty different puzzles or create and customize a pirate for online action games. This site promotes team-playing, strategies and logistics for all ages, but focuses on the younger crowd.
36. Revolution: This game is suited for the classroom, but it can be downloaded for home use as well (Windows only). Several papers were published on this game, focusing on its interactive means of teaching students about the American Revolution.
37. RuneScape: What a great way to learn how to play multi-user games. This site offers instant access from any computer, with over 15,000 of free gameplay, over 150 quests and 24 diverse skill sets.

Virtual Worlds for College and Higher

Engage in new worlds and learn social skills, computer skills, sociology and real-world skills with these games.

38. Active Worlds: You can participate or build a virtual world, custom brand that world and more with this game that businesses and educational institutes use for problem solving, strategics and communication.
39. CyberCiege: Sponsored by the U.S. Navy, this game was designed to teach network security concepts and it is used as a training tool by agencies of the U.S. government, universities and community colleges. The game is freely available to the U.S. Government and a no-cost license is available for educational institutions. If you have other reasons to use this game, you can learn more about how to obtain it under “Downloads” tab in the site’s menu.
40. Entropia Universe: This site is billed as the first virtual universe with a real cash economy. Join six currently active planets to have fun and to learn skill levels.
41. Food Force: This educational game is published by the United Nations World Food Programme. Players take on missions to distribute food in a famine-affected country and to help it recover and become self-sufficient.
42. Kaneva: Kaneva is the first virtual world to integrate social networking, shared media, and collaborative online communities into a modern-day, immersive 3D world for the masses.
43. Second Life: If you haven’t yet heard about Second Life — even if you do not participate — then you’ve been computer-deprived. This is the largest user-created 3D virtual world community, used by individuals, businesses and educational institutions for socializing, problem-solving, brain-storming and more.

Education for Adults

From college level up, these games have provided knowledge, sharpen skills and help to maintain an active brain!

44. AARP Games: One of the newest games on this site is the “Driver Safety Program” that teaches safe driving to those who are learning to drive or for those who forgot how to drive safely. Don’t stop there – there are plenty of fun games on this site.
45. Ethical work and life learning: This series of games and quizzes is geared toward learning more about business ethics and attitudes.
46. Favorite Games: This link leads to the download for Windows. Use this download to play games against opponents or against your computer such as Belote, Bridge, Monopoly and more.
47. Games for the Brain: Don’t let the simplicity of this site fool you — the games are fun and the skills learned are priceless.
48. Living Math! Although this site seems structured for students, take a closer look. Learn math games from around the world, sharpen your Domino skills and refresh your knowledge on chance and probability with the opportunities presented here.
49. Luminosity: Games for the brain and for brain training. While subscriptions can cost, you can play your way through volumes of games for free.
50. SharpBrains: This link leads directly to the brain games section of the site. Be sure to look around, though, as this site has numerous learning resources.

One of the most challenging aspects of college is finding a way to pay for it. Scholarships can seem scarce — especially if you are one of hundreds of people competing for standard scholarships for leadership, academics and need. Instead, it might help to think outside the box a little bit. There are a number of scholarships available that cater to individuals that have more specific qualifications. And because they are “weird,” fewer people know about them, so there is less competition. Some of the scholarships are for smaller amounts, but every little bit helps. Here are some examples of lesser-known scholarships available:

1. Duck Brand Duct Tape’s “Stuck at Prom” Scholarship Contest: Win $3,000 if your prom outfit, made from duct tape, is chosen the sinner.
2. Tall Clubs International: This association of tall people award scholarships to women who are 5′10″ and men who are 6′2″ and going to college. The scholarship is worth $1,000, and is meant for students attending their first year of college.
3. Little People of America: If you have been diagnosed with dwarfism, you can apply for scholarship awards ranging from $250 to $1,000
4. Vegetarian Resource Group: If you are willing to promote your vegetarian beliefs in your school or community, you might be eligible for a $5,000 scholarship. Carnivores need not apply.
5. National Beef Ambassador Program: If you like to eat meat, specifically beef, you can win a scholarship if you are willing to educate others about beef. Prizes are $250 and up.
6. Klingon Language Institute: Die-hard Star Trek fans know that Klingon is, in fact, now a fully-fledged language. And even if you don’t speak Klingon, if you are are interested in studying language as an undergrad or a grad, you can apply for this $500 scholarship.
7. David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship: If you are attending Ball State University, and in the field of telecommunications, you can win $10,000 for a creative project. This scholarship is awarded by a fund set up by one of Ball State’s most famous alumni.
8. Collegiate Investors Competition: Present an idea for an invention, and win up to $25,000. Just make sure your invention is plausible and has societal value.
9. Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship: Are you a golf caddie? Apply for this full-tuition scholarship from the Western Golf Association.
10. Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year Award: Known as the SAMMY, this is offered to high school students, seniors, for use in college. Students must be scholar-athletes. So, even if you don’t get a plum athletic scholarship for college, you can still get $7,500.

Scholarships like this are available by the thousands. There are scholarships for  people with the last name Zolp, children of parents who sell Tupperware and many others. The key is to find scholarships that are somewhat obscure, and then apply for several of them.

Find Weird College Scholarships

There are a number of places to look for scholarships that have unusual requirements. The good news is that many of these awards do not have academic requirements attached, beyond attending school. Here are some steps you can take to increase the chances of finding a weird scholarship.

• Web search: Think about your qualities. This includes specific traits and interests. Type “accordion scholarships” into Google, and you come up with the Jim Boggio Accordion Scholarships, which are awarded to young players of the unusual instrument. You can do this with a number of traits, such as “left-handed scholarships,” or searches including your ethnicity, culture or religion, in search engines from Google to Yahoo to Bing.
• Scholarship databases: There are a number of databases out there that provide information on scholarships. The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill offers a list of scholarship databases that you can sign up for. These databases help you create a profile, and then can send you email alerts when a scholarship you are eligible for pops up.
• Universities themselves: Call the financial aid offices of the colleges you are applying to. These offices can help point you in the right direction, and let you know what scholarships are available. Additionally, once you pick a major, you can speak with your department about what scholarships are available. You might be surprised by the money that is waiting to be claimed for a number of students with certain qualifications.

Apply for Weird College Scholarships

After you have located possible scholarships, it is time to apply. It is important to note that not all unusual scholarships are easy to get. Some scholarships are easier to get than others, but even with the easiest of scholarships, it is important to make sure you fulfill all of the requirements, and understand what the application process entails. Some scholarships, such as those that require advocacy on the part of some cause, or proficiency in a skill, will require at least two years of work in order to reach a level of eligibility. Make sure that you start your college scholarship search early, so that you can establish yourself as a worthy recipient.

Some resources you can use to help you apply for scholarships include:

1. Scholarship Help: This site takes you through the realities of paying for college, and helps you find scholarship opportunities. Then it provides helpful hints on how to prepare your scholarship application, how to write your essay, and what to look for in people to write letters of recommendation.
2. CollegeBoard: This site is very useful for a number of college planning purposes. It also includes a section on how to organize your scholarship search, and tips for filling out applications.
3. Financial Aid Tips: If you are looking for tips on paying for college, from government grants to scholarships to loans, this site can help you. It includes a scholarship database, as well as helpful information on writing scholarship essays and providing access to information about minority opportunities.
4. GradView: Many people don’t realize how difficult it is to find scholarships as a graduate student. GradView offers helpful information on available graduate school scholarships, and how to apply for them.
5. Lewis & Clark College: This school in Oregon has a rather helpful page on applying for scholarships that are not directly from the university you are attending. Helpful information on what selection committees look for, as well as resources, is available here.

In the end, your scholarship opportunities are largely limited by your imagination. It may take some time and effort, but it is possible to find weird college scholarships that you have a reasonable chance of winning.

Starting college can be a bit overwhelming at the outset. There is so much to get used to. And it can be difficult to navigate the best prices and figure out where to go to find out what you need. The good news is that there are a number of resources and tools available online for students. If you are an incoming freshman, here are 25 essential web tools to help you start off on the right foot:

Cheap Textbooks

There are few things in college life as disappointing as seeing how much a textbook costs. Your best bet is to look for used textbooks. But even used textbooks can be pricey at the university bookstore. Instead, consider these sites that provide interesting solutions to the textbook problem:

1. Chegg.com: This is an interesting web site that provides textbook rentals. For a fraction of the cost of buying, you can rent your textbooks. They are shipped fast, and at the end of the semester, you can ship your books back to Chegg for free. Plus, since textbooks are constantly reused, you are helping to save a few trees.
2. Screw the Bookstores: You can list your own textbooks for sale, or find a used textbook for much less than paying the regular price. This is a site that helps individuals get more for their used books than the bookstore would pay to buy them back, while at the same time offering cheap textbooks.
3. Affordabook.com: You can use this web site to search for textbooks by author, keyword, title or ISBN. You can even search by university name, getting a class list related to participating schools. Books are cheap, and www.affordabook.com also searches its partner sites for good deals. The web site even includes money saving tips.
4. CheapBooks: Just what it sounds like, this web site provides you with the ability to find inexpensive textbooks. Not only that, you can sell your books back through CheapBooks to earn cash. Browse by subject, or look. There are also textbook rentals available.

* It is also worth noting that some universities and colleges have their own online textbook exchanges and listings. You might be able to strike a deal with fellow students using these types of web tools.

Finding an Apartment or Roommate

Sometimes, freshman come to school hoping to find a cheap apartment, or look for a roommate. Sometimes previous plans fall through. In any case, it can help to know where to look. Here are some online tools for apartment hunting.

5. Campus Roommates: This site helps students find roommates near campus. If you need a place to stay, or if you are looking to find someone to help share the rent, you can search for potential roommates by state and school.
6. College Apartments: Find what’s available near your college or university. This site allows you to browse listings from a number of institutions of higher learning and find housing nearby.
7. Rate My Apartments: Worried about what you will find when you get to your new home? You can use Rate My Apartments to find quality housing, and read reviews about different experiences with landlords and rental conditions.
8. Campus Grotto: This site, offering helpful information on college life, has partnered with Apartments.com to help you find a housing arrangement near your specific college or university.

Class and Professor Reviews

Many freshman find themselves unpleasantly surprised when they take a class they thought might be interesting, or when they choose a professor that turns out to be inordinately difficult. Before you sign up for a class, consider these web tools that can help you find the best professors and classes.

9. Rate My Professors: This site allows you to look for ratings of professors, and their courses, offered by fellow students. You can also add your own ratings and feelings about professors you have had. Search reviews by school.
10. Rate A Prof: This site is a little edgier, and shows a bit of attitude. But it does offer a number professor ratings.
11. StudentsReview: Forget the college rankings and what “experts” say. Learn what your peers have to say about different colleges, what to expect, and what classes to take.
12. America.edu: This web site focuses on reviewing various degree programs, so you can get an idea of what degree programs your school excels at.

Student Organization and Study Aids

You will need to be able to keep track of your new schedule, as well as find some study aids to help you better focus. These tools will help you stay organized and efficient. Just make sure you schedule time for a little partying.

13. CollegeRuled: This is a great scheduling tool. You arrange your school schedule by semester, and even keep track of assignments and other study aids. You can even sync up CollegeRuled with your Facebook account.
14. Evernote: Use this program to keep track of important information for assignments, take notes on your classes and organize all of the information into something searchable.
15. Orchestrate: Create multiple to-do lists and manage your tasks. This can allow you to break down your schedule, assignments and study sessions according to class.
16. Rainlendar: You can create a schedule, and add regular to-do items to a task manager that helps you know where to be. You can also put this on your desktop for increased ease of use. Putting everything from what class you should be in, to when bills are due, to your mom’s birthday, in one place can help you better manage it.
17. Google Calendar: You can customize this calendar according to your needs. Email reminders help you keep on top of everything.

Tutoring, Study Guides and Term Papers

If you need a little help getting a piece of literature, or if you need some extra help with a specific subject, you can go online to find what you are looking for. There are even web tools that can help you better organize your term papers.

18. College-Cram.com: You can access a number of study guides on this site that can help you refresh your memory and gain a better understanding of your subjects.
19. Online Tutoring: Get specific and personalized help via the Internet with this online tutoring web site.
20. Acing College: Get help with homework, find instruction and even sign up for regular tutoring. If you find your academic life could use some help, you can find what you need here.
21. Zotero: This is a Firefox extension. It helps you keep track of sources for term papers, and then allows you to easily add them, properly formatted, into your term paper.
22. I-Search Paper Format Guide: Use this handy guide from Gallaudet University to figure out how to get started writing with your term paper, as well as find information on different styles and formats, and how to include different information in your paper.

Free Stuff, Coupons and Promos

College students are often strapped for cash. These sites can help you find great deals, promos and even free stuff.

23. Coupon Sherpa: Get online promo codes, printable coupons, local deals and even electronic coupons that can be scanned from your iPhone.
24. Volition: Find free stuff from the oldest site of its kind on the web. A number of products and services can be found for free — saving you money.
25. JustFreeStuff: The latest offers and freebies from around the web.

Students need all the help they can get these days. Getting ahead in school is important for your future. But keeping everything organized, and learning everything you need can be a daunting task. The good news is that there is plenty of help available. Here are 25 free web tools that every student should use to help keep on top of school work:

Organization and Calendar

You need to keep your assignment due dates straight, as well as keep track of what is required for different school projects. The good news is that there are plenty of free organizational tools that can help you keep your schedule straight:

1. Google Calendar: If you are looking to keep everything neatly organized, Google Calendar can help. You can receive reminders, invite others to events (handy for group projects), and color code entries to easily pick items according to schedule. Plus, you can access Google Calendar from anywhere you have Internet access. There is an add-on called RememberTheMilk can be integrated to help you manage your tasks easily.
2. Zoho Projects: This is a great calendar and organizational tool for graduate students who want to be able to manage complex projects, as for a thesis or dissertation. The nesting feature makes it easy to manage tasks and milestones, breaking things down into more easily managed bits. File sharing is available, for those who are working on group projects.
3. Basecamp: You can create task lists, and check them off as items are accomplished. This is a great collaborative tool for group projects, as it allows file uploads, and a way to keep track of comments and conversations. Also a great place to track milestones and keep up with complex projects.
4. Neptune: A simple to-do list manager, Neptune is ideal for ordering tasks and organizing your projects. You can create different folders for different projects, and enter tasks according to their importance. It is possible to set up Neptune to email you daily with your task items. Also includes a note-taking capability.
5. 30 Boxes: If you are looking to integrate your calendar with RSS feeds and news, 30 Boxes is ideal for you. It is possible for you to enter items into a calendar, and then have your days updated automatically with information from a course site or campus event site.
6. HipCal: This calendar was just acquired by the business contact site Plaxo. But HipCal is still immensely helpful — and now you can integrate your schedule with your Plaxo contacts and other contacts. HipCal features email and SMS alerts, as well as to-do lists and group calendars for multi-person assignments.
7. CollegeRuled: Create your class schedule every semester, and keep track of assignments and projects. Arranged weekly, it provides you with an easy to read schedule. You can also manage tasks, set up class message boards and link to Facebook.

Notetaking

If you want to create reminders about helpful web sites, or make notes while in class, notetaking applications can be quite helpful. This is especially true in some classrooms where it is required to have a laptap — or at least allowed. Here are some great notetaking web tools:

8. Stickies: In theory, Stickies work like virtual Post-It Notes. You can put these yellow notes on web pages to come back to later. You can also make notes on things learned in class and leave them on relevant pages.
9. NoteMesh: Take notes on your classes, and then compare them with other students’ notes. NoteMesh is a sort of wiki for class notes. Everyone can share notes, and increase collaboration. And who knows? Someone might have noticed something you missed. Also helpful for when you are ready to go back and study for the test.
10. Evernote: You can capture image, text, audio and video easily using Evernote. It is available for use on both Mac and PC, and provides ease of use when capturing information and making notes on what you have. Tagging makes it easy to search your notes and find what you are looking for.
11. Google Notebook: It really isn’t a surprise that Google has a notetaking tool. Notebook allows you to collect different articles, and place them in notebooks. For students, this can be a great research tool, allowing you to collect sources, comment on them, and label them for later use in an assignment or project.
12. Notecentric: You can take notes on a number of subjects, and then have them automatically synchronized. Organize your notes by course, making it easy to access them later, and to search them for what you need. Keeps everything organized so that you don’t have to.
13. shortText: This is a notetaking application that helps you grab information about different web sites and sources, or make your own notes on what you have run across. Customize shortText to fit your needs, and connect it to your social media accounts with Twitter and del.icio.us.
14. Yahoo! Notepad: If you have a Yahoo! account (which is free), you can get access to a Notepad. This notetaking tool allows you to take notes, as well as integrate your notes with a calendar, your contacts and other tools.

Study Aids

If you are looking for help with your studying, there are plenty of tools for that. Use your notetaking and calendar tools to organize what you find, however. Here are some great study aids:

15. SparkNotes: Get access to a number of well-known literary works, in abbreviated form. Whether you need to brush up on what happened in the second act of Julius Caesar, or whether you need help with the main plot points of Beowulf, SparkNotes can help. Also includes test prep.
16. College-Cram.com: A number of study guides for a number of different subjects, from math to literature, can help you get into the groove and cover the essential points of general knowledge in different areas.
17. Study Stack: Provides online flashcards in a variety of subjects, ranging from math to business to geography. Also includes flashcards to help you study for standardized tests. Games help younger students stay engaged as they study.
18. Study Guides and Strategies: Get the basics of reading, test prep, writing and other subjects. Includes helpful information on how to study, rather than focusing only on what to study.
19. CliffsNotes: Get study helps and notes on a number of subjects. Many of the study aids offered are free, but some of them do cost a little bit. You can brush up on nearly any subject.
20. Online Bible Study Tools: For divinity students, this is a great resource. Get helpful study hints for learning the Bible, and get access to a searchable Bible to help you find what you need.

Term Paper and Formatting

Putting together a term paper can be hard work. Here are some tools to help make it a little bit easier.

21. EasyBib: Helps you put together your bibliography and create citations. You can do this with MLA for free, and a small fee for APA and Chicago.
22. OttoBib: Choose a style, and then look for sources. You can find sources for a term paper, and see the correct way to format them according to the style you are using.
23. Zotero: This cool Firefox extension helps you cite research sources you find online. Puts them in proper format, and makes it easy for you to add them to a term paper.
24. The Owl At Purdue: See a number of guides from Purdue’s online writing lab. Includes information on how to format in MLA and APA, and how to prepare professional papers.
25. Word: While Word isn’t free, if you have the program, it offers free formatting tools for your papers.

Welcome to HowToEdu, your guide to higher education. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be compiling guides on how to get the most out of your education. Check back often!