Within just the past few years, recent breakthroughs in consumer technology have begun to have a dramatic impact upon the way that we learn new information in our society. From iPhone apps designed for advanced level medical students to interactive eBooks written for the developmentally disabled, today\’s technology has taken the most advanced methods of education out of the classroom and into the hands of the average citizen. As a result, more people than every are finding ways to learn about the world both in and out of a classroom environment at a speed and efficiency that was previously thought to be impossible.

While online applications have been available ever since the most basic networks were made released to public during the late 1980s, it was not until the last couple of years that new applications and hardware ushered in a true sea change in how we think about education and learning. Now that portable devices like the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPhone have put nearly every book in print available to consumers at the push of a button, more people than ever on finding it affordable and convenient to dig deeper into advanced topics, while social media allows the public share their thoughts on complex subjects outside of the classroom.

At the same time, these new eLearning tools give today\’s students an incredible number of tools to take advantage of in a traditional academic environment. Regardless of whether a student is struggling with high school algebra or graduate level philosophy, students no longer have to rely upon their teachers and classmates when they are not receiving the tools they need that they need in the classroom. There are now applications available for smartphones and personal computers for every academic discipline that allow students to dive as deeply into their studies as they want to. Most of these affordable applications are designed by well educated individuals who are dedicated to helping students with advanced studies rather than software designers simply tying to make an easy profit.

Although these new tools have been proven to be incredibly effective in a classroom environment, there are also a growing number of eLearning apps and eBooks for citizens who simply want to educate themselves on their own. Whether an individual cannot afford to pay for school or has too many personal and professional obligations to sit down in a regular classroom, today\’s eLearning applications let nearly anyone learn more about the world around them in virtually any setting. Through free services like Academic Earth and TED Talks, users can enjoy the benefits of being in an Ivy League classroom or informative lecture while sitting in a waiting room or commuting to work. Other interactive applications let users practice what they have learned on topics that ranging from learning a new language from scratch to advanced level mathematics.