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Although MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) is a relatively new idea, I remember some form of them back in the early nineties. There were small web-based companies that offered paid courses in arts and crafts, basic web page design and business writing. Now you can take professional, undergraduate and even graduate courses offered by top universities. Normally, it would cost you a pretty penny to attend but now its possible for anyone and everyone. Universities can use MOOCs for different reasons:
* to attract new students,
* offer a public service to the community and
* contribute to the online education movement.
For students, free MOOCs offer the chance to earn a certificate of completion for a college-level course with credit. For universities, free MOOCs are part of the movement that gives private higher education away for free. Some think that MOOCs can be a dangerous direction because they can lead to entire degrees being offered for free online. What would you need with a university if you can get a free college degree online?
These are interesting developments on both sides. Either way, here are some more details about MOOCs:
Typical courses are several weeks and are delivered by lecture, video and or online meetings. Most courses do have textbooks that can be purchased in printed form; downloaded from a third-party site or viewed online at the MOOC's site. Students usually register at the MOOCs site which also includes other types of learning support such as libraries, student lounges, admissions counseling and links to academic-related support sites. Courses have exams, activities and projects that students have the option of taking and obtaining grades for. Most MOOC programs offer certificates from the home school or from the MOOC itself. Students who wish to receive a certificate for the course must take exams and complete all assignments.
Below is a list of free MOOCs to check out:
Coursera (https://www.coursera.org/)
Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/)
ITunes U https://www.apple.com/apps/itunes-u/)
Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/)
ITunes U https://www.apple.com/apps/itunes-u/)
Udacity (https://www.udacity.com/)
iVersity (https://iversity.org/)
NovoED (https://novoed.com/)
FutureLearn (https://www.futurelearn.com/)
EdX (https://www.edx.org/)
Open2Study (https://www.open2study.com/)
There are also a number of free courses at some top U.S. ivory league schools:
Stanford (http://online.stanford.edu/courses)
UC Berkeley (https://www.edx.org/school/uc-berkeleyx)
