MOOC's! Free education online
3:50 pmHello!
Today I wanted to introduce to you "MOOC's" - massive open online courses. What's that? They are short (non-credit) online courses available in a variety of different subjects which anyone can take.
I think they're an excellent opportunity for many reasons:
1) look good to employers/uni's
2) broadens knowledge on subject area
3) provides insight in a subject area you want to explore before actually going into it - helping you make a career choice
4) can act as a prerequisite before starting uni
5) great for people who are not able to get the education they want
6) easy to manage with other daily activities
7) it's distance learning - can study from the comfort of your own home
So here's the useful part.. the websites which you can take these courses on. I've found that there are actually a lot of websites that offer such courses but I've only explored and liked three of the main ones. All three offer courses from leading universities worldwide.
The courses vary on difficulty; while most are great for complete novices in the subject, others may require you to have some background knowledge. Some may be of a higher level that graduates may be better at, whereas some can be introductory. Some courses require more work hours on course material per week and are challenging. Either way, anyone is free to sign up to any and as many of these courses as the wish.
I have personally taken a course myself, as after graduation I was still interested in furthering my understanding in Psychology (I'm just a big geek really). I took mine on Coursera delivered by Johns Hopkins University. I signed up for ID verification which meant that on successful completion I would get a certificate from the uni and have my ID verified to prove it was in fact I that took the course! But, for this you need to pay a fee, otherwise you only get a statement of accomplishment instead of a certificate and ID verification). The course itself was still free.
I really wanted to share this as not many people know about this.. I only found out about 6 months ago myself! It's such a great opportunity for anyone, so I hope some of you can benefit from this. If you're looking to start university soon it might be useful to take a look at the courses they offer related to your subject, as it might give you a head start for your degree course. All courses are short, from few weeks to maybe a few a months max.
Take lots of care!
Ayesha xxx
1 comments
I definitely want to start some kind of online course this year - it's been so long since I've studied!
ReplyDeleteTara x
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