M.I.T., Harvard, others, offer FREE ONLINE CLASSES (MOOC)

[healthy11]

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's) may represent the future of education!

Maybe our kids don't want to take "full course loads" or "formal classes," but students who complete the classes can earn certificates for their work!
news.yahoo.com/mit-harvard-free-online-courses161938836.html
mitx.mit.edu/

older courses can be found at ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

There are also a wealth of courses offered by KhanAcademy at www.khanacademy.org/

www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2016-03-04/5-reasons-to-consider-paying-for-a-mooc-verified-certificate

www.knowledgelover.com/best-mooc-massive-open-online-course-providers-list/


As of 2017, There is also "Grow with Google" which offers free online training, tools, and events to help people of all ages grow their skills, career, or business: www.grow.google

[wimom]

I think even hubby find a use for the mit one, thank

[healthy11]

www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/the-big-idea-that-can-revolutionize-higher-education-mooc/256926/#

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/university-of-illinois-coursera-course-online-education_n_1686531.html

..."Coursera is part of a trend of "massive online open classrooms," often referred to simply as MOOCs, looking to revolutionize student accessibility to prestigious schools.

The company was founded last fall by two Standford University professors. Coursera and its partner institutions offer and do not charge for over 100 courses in the sciences, arts and more. Students who once found their academic lives restricted by financial straits or strange work hours may now further their educations online...."

www.coursera.org/

[healthy11]

The Sept. 16, 2012 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek mentioned two additional online operations besides KhanAcademy and Coursera: EdX and Udacity.

www.edx.org/

www.udacity.com/

www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/07/coursera_udacity_edx_will_free_online_ivy_league_courses_end_the_era_of_expensive_higher_ed_.html

[zippity]

I think these are the coolest. I wanted to take a course at Coursera myself. Not going to happen until my senior is on her way to her college because I also have part-time work but this is the best way to get going without enrolling in college myself again. I found these when researching items for my own career and my son when he was applying to college. We turned my daughter onto Kahn academy this year. Physics is a butt kicker but she is taking help wherever she can. Kahn has been a helpful addition to seeing her teacher after school 2x a week.

[zippity]

I should add MIT had several online or links via YouTube courses which helped my son jump right into AP Calculus BC. He self taught himself Calculus AB through MIT, and took the placement test for the BC for his senior year. If you have a kid as hooked on math as mine is, MIT's courses can really be a boon. and He also took Linear Algebra which he listed on his "interests" for his college app. He ordered a book off of Amazon to go with his Linear Algebra tutorials.

[healthy11]

Apparently attempting to use online classes for college credit still needs to have some "kinks" worked out, as many students don't pass: www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/07/19/san_jose_state_suspends_udacity_online_classes_after_students_fail_final.html


On a separate note, I've been hearing advertisements for www.lynda.com, which is a site that offers various tech training courses, like in computer software, photography, etc., for beginners and advanced users alike, but there is a fee to view them.

[healthy11]

finance.yahoo.com/news/surge-growth-kind-online-course-195311609.html


On a separate note, there are even classes being taught in unusual subjects like Baseball Analytics, sports.yahoo.com/news/baseball-employment-revolution--why-thousands-have-signed-up-for-free-online-course-173025914.html

[healthy11]

Although Udemy apparently charges a small fee for their courses, people who want to teach classes can share in the profits: finance.yahoo.com/news/how-this-25-year-old-made--66-000-in-a-month-by-teaching-an-online-course-160720101.html

[healthy11]

Here's an update on the status of MOOC's and different places offering them: www.educationdive.com/news/universities-offering-moocs-doubled-in-2014/347803/

[healthy11]

news.yahoo.com/5-strategies-strengthen-college-applications-mooc-140000381.html lists some information about how taking MOOC's can even benefit students when they apply to traditional "brick and mortar" colleges.

[healthy11]

I just heard about this site, where people can learn computer coding like Python, Java, PHP, JavaScript, and Ruby: www.codecademy.com

Additionally, Google and Udacity have teamed up to teach android basics to novice coders: venturebeat.com/2016/06/22/google-and-udacity-team-up-to-launch-an-android-basics-course-for-novice-coders/?hl=1&noRedirect=1

[healthy11]

www.inc.com/larry-kim/9-places-you-can-learn-how-to-code-for-free.html?cid=readmoretextrev lists 9 places you can learn to code for free:

MIT Open Courseware
Code Academy
Khan Academy
HTML5 Rocks
Coursera
Udemy
Udacity
Google University Consortium
edX

The end of the article also mentions places where you can pay to learn different computer coding languages...they say paid courses are usually more comprehensive and often provide some kind of expert support that is helpful when you're stuck or have questions, but the information from the free courses is still great!

Also, here's a list of 80+ MOOC providers, who offer courses on a huge variety of topics, not only coding: knowledgelover.com/best-mooc-massive-open-online-course-providers-list/

And for low cost classes on various topics, see www.businessinsider.com/udemy-online-class-10-dollar-deal-2017-2

[healthy11]

I just read an article that points out how most successful people have developed their abilities to speak in public... here are some sites to learn public speaking skills for free: www.thisisinsider.com/11-places-to-learn-public-speaking-skills-for-free-2017-4