MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses taught by university professors, including some from top universities in the US and worldwide. You can experiment with courses in web design, coding, biology or anything that interests you. http://www.mooc.ca/providers.htm. Below are some details:
- Courses are Fee Free. They are practical and easy to use. There are no barrier to entry.
- Platforms: Coursera. EdX. Future Learn (UK based), Canvas Network, Iversity (out of Germany).
- Class Central: put in a topic and it will show you courses available across different platforms.
- Users can hop in and hop out; you just need Internet. Take what you need and move on; it’s not necessary to finish the course.
- Course options offer Incredible breadth and depth in varied subjects.
- Coursera has 850 courses right now and can be accessed day or night. It offers a very large catalog of data science and computer science options: www.coursera.org
- EdX has more humanities and traditional college courses.
- Use ClassCentral or search on multiple sites.
- Course content is free but certificates and some graded assessments require payment.
- Financial aid is virtually guaranteed for applicants and requires just an essay about why you’re taking a course.
- There are no prerequisites – learners hail from all over the world and from all stages in life.
- Courses are available in a variety of fields from introduction to philosophy, photography, Chinese language, pre-calc, and some are even dedicated to high school learners.
- Use MOOCs to explore majors – especially if you’re undecided- it will help you audition for courses. Ask yourself: do you love it, hate it, or are you indifferent to it? Remember, it’s all for free.
- Use it to watch lectures by professors at one university (example: University of Chicago) and see how that compares with professors at another university (for example, Northwestern University) which you might be interested in.
EXPLORE | ENGAGE | ENJOY