Online Learning Opportunities | Learn Something New Anytime, Anywhere!

 
 
The development of technology has a profound effect on society. It also effects the way we learn, broaden our knowledge and develop new skills: Online courses and so called MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have become more and more popular. Universities and educational institutions invested in online learning platforms and offer online learning opportunities, that allow us to engage in topics like computer science, programming, history, business, marketing, philosophy, psychology, meditation, self-development, and many more.

 

“We teach today’s students
as we taught yesterday’s,
we rob them of tomorrow.”
John Dewey

 
I nformation and Communications Technology (ICT) has enabled us to interact and communicate, create and innovate, distribute and share in whole new ways. This dynamic shift effect various areas of our personal and professional life and it creates a profound change throughout our society, including the way we learn, broaden our knowledge and develop new skills.

In the last ten years, online courses and so called MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have become more and more popular. Universities, educational institutions, start-ups and companies invested into the development of online learning platforms and online courses. While some online course providers offer paid courses with certificates and degrees, the majority of courses are still available for free, if you just want to access the course material and take part in forum discussions.

Online learning opportunities vary from computer science and programming, Greek or Roman history, creating a business or developing an online marketing strategy, philosophy or psychology, meditation and self-development topics, and many more. To get an impression about the broad variety of subjects, check out the search engines Class Central   or CourseTalk  .

 

The Future of Learning and Education

The changes and opportunities that come along with ICT effect also the way we learn and teach. The Future of Learning looks at the potential to redefine education in a netwoked society. Watch here the trailer…

 

The Future of Learning – Networked Society [full video] | Youtube

 

Online Learning Opportunities: Online Courses and MOOCs

Defining MOOC

MOOC
A course of study made available over the Internet without charge to a very large number of people.
by Oxford Dictionaries

MOOC stands for…
M is for Massive
O is for Open
O is for Online
C is for Course

What is a MOOC? | Youtube

MOOCs are courses designed for large numbers of participants, that can be accessed by anyone anywhere as long as they have an internet connection, are open to everyone without entry qualifications, and offer a full/complete course experience online for free.
Definition Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) by OpenupED, 12 March 2015

 

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MOOC FAQ

Free online courses

Anyone can access a free online course without paying a fee. Usually, the course materials, e.g. video lectures, taking part in forum discussions, tests/assignments, etc., are free, but certain features like graded assignments, certificates, and coaching/mentoring throughout the course may require a fee.

Course certificate

Many courses do offer certificates, but they also require you to pay for the certificate. According to Class Central, at the moment, no major MOOC provider offers a free certificate. Certificate costs vary for each MOOC provider.

Certificate Programmes and Specialisations

Although the majority of courses are free, many online course providers offer certificate programmes or specializations, which may include a sequence of courses and/or a final project at the end. Examples are Coursera’s “Specializations”, edX’s “XSeries” or Udacity’s “Nanodegrees.”

cMOOC vs xMOOC

A cMOOC emphasizes the connectivist philosophy: it focusses on collaboration and sharing and building knowledge within a community of people. cMOOCs share many similarities with non-formal learning. (Read also my article Experiental. Self-directed. Intercultural. Non-formal Learning meets Online Learning) An xMOOC follows a more traditional model of education, based on lectures recorded in videos. (Source: Desarrollo Web)

 

Online Learning Platforms | Online Course Providers

5 major online course providers

Several universities as well as universities or educational institutions together with start-up companies developed platforms that offer a broad variety of online courses. Right now four names are the ones to know:

edX

Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX is an online learning destination and MOOC provider, offering online courses from more than 90 universities and institutions. edx is founded and governed by colleges and universities. It is both nonprofit and open source.
edX | Website

Coursera

Coursera was founded in 2012 by two Stanford Computer Science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. Since then, coursera grew into an online course provider that collaborates with almost 150 universities and educational institutions and is therefore able to offer more than 2000 courses in different languages. Most courses are for free, however if learners would like to obtain a sharable course certificate they have to pay a fee.
Coursera | Website

Udacity

Unlike other providers of MOOCs, it has said it will focus all of its courses on computer science and related fields. Udacity was an outgrowth of a Stanford University experiment in which Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig offered their ‘Introduction to Artificial Intelligence’ course online for free in which over 160,000 students in more than 190 countries enrolled.
Udacity| Website

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a private company (owned by The Open University), partnering with major UK and international universities, as well as educational institutions such as the British Council, the British Library, the British Museum, and the National Film and Television School.
FutureLearn | Website

iversity

iversity is an online learning platform for higher education and professional development courses provided by experts from all over Europe.
iversity | Website

Courses, video lectures and tutorials

OpenLearn

OpenLearn – formerly LearningSpace and Open2 – provides free access to learning materials from The Open University.
OpenLearn | Website

Khan Academy

Khan Academy began in 2006 as an online library of short instructional videos from Salman Khan. It now offers practice exercises and instructional videos about math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more. Kahn Academy partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.
Khan Academy | Website

Learning and teaching online

Canvas Network

An open, online course network that connects students, teachers & institutions. Canvas Network provides a learning management system for higher education, K-12, and workforce users worldwide.
Canvas Network | Website

Udemy

Udemy is a marketplace for learning and teaching online. Learners can choose a course from a library of over 55,000 courses, explore new topics and develop new skills, while authors / course instructors can offer their video courses (free/paid courses).
Udemy | Website

Skillshare

Skillshare describes himself as an online learning community where anyone can discover and take online courses and/or teach a subject to others. Monthly subscription.
Skillshare | Website

 

Searching Online Courses

You can browse each website of an online course provider or subscribe to their newsletter services. Or, you can browse course lists and search engines, that specialize on (free) open online courses.

Class Central

Search engine and reviews site for MOOCs and free online courses.
Class Central | Website

CourseTalk

Navigate online courses on Computer Science, Business, Design, Data Science, Humanities and check out courses through student reviews.
CourseTalk | Website

Open Culture

More than 1,300 free online courses listed from universities and educational institutions, e.g. Stanford, Yale, MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Oxford and many more…
Open Culture | Website

MOOC List

MOOCs and Free Online Courses from Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, OpenClassrooms and other providers and Universities. Search from a list of pcoming classes (for the next 30 days).
MOOC List | Website

 

Online Learning and Connected Learning

A short video about MOOCs and the connected age.
by EDUCAUSE SPRINT, 2013

 

MOOCs and Beyond | Youtube

 

Check out also…

Kimmig, Michael: Experiental. Self-directed. Intercultural. Non-formal Learning meets Online Learning)

LEED 2.0 | Learning and Education 2.0 | Pinterest Board

Daphne Koller: What we’re learning from online education | Youtube

Connected Learning: Everyone, Everywhere, Anytime | Youtube