I am not sure if this is the right section to place this.

I would like to share the following information on groups around the world who are currently making learning easier and cheaper (actually free!) for everyone. I have taken about three classes from some of these groups and the have proved to be very useful. The courses taught range from basic html, php, SQL, robotics, AI, to non-science based courses like Economics, art related courses, games theory, etc. If you are interested, feel free to sign up for free (pun intended )

http://codeacademy.com/ (strictly programming languages)

http://udacity.com/ (interesting group run by the guys at google. Courses are diverse from statistics, Computer Science, AI for robotics, cryptography, HTML5, etc)

https://www.coursera.org/ (founded by some guys at Stanford but now many Unis around the world offer lectures here).

The code academy guys are the most 'flexible'. Their courses are short courses and you can even finish a module in a day.
I started my php course with them and its gone well so far. They've made things easy.

For coursera and Udacity, I must confess, you need to have a lot of time on your hands and interest in what you are learning ofcourse. I completed a course in Machine Learning on Coursera taught by Prof Ng from Stanford. Took a lot of my time but still ok. He divided his lectures into about 15 minute videos but there were loads of assignments (programming and non programming). I guess my prior knowledge of ML helped. I must advice, make sure you've got the time. Its worth it though.
I am currently taking two classes on Udacity - AI for robotics and HTML5. Udacity is similar to coursera in terms of course delivery BUT the guys at Udacity have made things a bit easier. At coursera, you are given assignments which you have to submit by a particular deadline. However at Udacity, the questions are asked during the lectures and you should give your answers immediately ( I don't know if its same with all modules).

Please feel free to share your experiences with any of the above.

All the best!

Thanks @OP.

You are welcome

I should have mentioned that the Coursera guys give out a certificate of attendance at the end of the course (with some caveats obviously)

proudlysports: I should have mentioned that the Coursera guys give out a certificate of attendance at the end of the course (with some caveats obviously)

lol! Of what benefit is such certificate?

I agree the caveat might mean that you cannot present it as a proof of your understanding of the course but if you have truly gone through the module without cheating, the certificate might just be a source of personal satisfaction.

^^^ And bragging rights too.

Lol..Well not really.
For me though, my aim in taking some of the courses is to (1) refresh what I already know and (2) learn new stuff and then sometimes, one leads to another.

For example, I'd always used Matlab for ML development but when I tried updating my knowledge on AI for Robotics via Udacity, I realized I had to learn python so I went back to code academy (plus other resources) to learn.

Bragging rights means little at the end of the day.

All these platforms are good, but the free courses they offer are very basic and you do not get a certificate in most cases, it is better to opt for alternatives that do certify you even if they are free courses.