If given a chance would you not like Love to study from a world renowned university like Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)?!
From extremely tough screening procedures to fees that exceed all limits, these universities are coveted and getting through is certainly no cakewalk. A chance to study courses from such universities is now available at the touch of a key!
Popularly known as MOOC – Massive Open Online Courses; these are courses offered by various networks or directly on university websites to every person with an access to the internet.
In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs provide interactive user forums to support community interactions between students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs).
Fun Fact: New York Times declared 2012 as the year of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). It was the year when Udacity, Coursera and edX, the three leading MOOC companies, took the education world by storm.
We at Campus Times bring to you 7 websites that provide MOOC’s from top universities at very low or nil costs.
Coursera
Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. In case you want a verified certificate indicating that you have completed the course there is a fee charged.
The website provides courses in a variety of areas, including Humanities, Medicine, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business, and Computer Science. I had recently took a chemistry course from chemistry tuition singapore and it seemed to be brilliant, each course includes short video lectures on different topics and assignments to be submitted, usually on a weekly basis.
edX
EdX was founded in May 2012 by scientists from Harvard and MIT. It hosts online university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to a worldwide student body, including some courses at no charge.
They have courses in various subjects like Music, Literature, Social Sciences, Law, Computer Science and many more.
Alison
ALISON was founded by entrepreneur Mike Feerick in Ireland in 2007.
Majority of Alison’s learners are located in the developing world, India being the place with fastest growing users. It currently offers various certificate (1-2 hours) and diploma level (9-11 hours) courses in over 10 languages!
They have courses in various categories like – Business & Enterprise Skills, Personal Development & Soft Skills and also basics of Languages.
Saylor Academy
The Saylor Academy armed with the mission to make education freely available believes in the power technology has to connect people across the globe.
It offers around 317 free college-level courses. The simple interface and easy directions makes this a really popular choice.
They offer courses in Biology, Economics, Philosophy and even Professional Development.
Open2Study
Open2Study is an online learning platform backed by Open Universities Australia (OUA), an Australian leader in accredited online education.
They have courses in categories ranging from Arts & Humanities to Health & Medicine and from Management to Science & Technology.
Academic Earth
Academic Earth has courses from all the big guys like MIT, Havard, Stanford and many more.
They usually have video lectures from these universities and in subjects from Astronomy, Chemistry, Economics, History, Law, Political Science to Religion and Statistics!
FutureLearn
The first UK-based MOOC platform, FutureLearn is owned by the Open University in Milton Keynes, England.
The differentiating factor is that it has 4 non-university partners: The British Museum, The British Council, The British Library and the National Film & Television School.
Which is why they have some really unique and interesting courses like: Digital Storytelling, Shakespeare and his World and many more!
The Internet has really changed the way we function. Changing the way we study obviously wasn’t so far behind.
So go ahead choose a course you’ve always wanted to learn about and go learn!
Like Nelson Mandela once said –
“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”
Saumya is a reader, dreamer & occasionally a bathroom singer. You’ll usually spot her with a glass of iced tea in hand. And when she is not dreaming she blogs at Introverted Extrovert.
