Introduction
Ever since the inception of the Internet- the best thing that happened to the human race, its massive potential has been utilized in uncountable ways. One among which, is Online Learning. Sitting at your home you can learn from anywhere, anytime. Interested? – Read on.
Online Learning- What Is It?
Education, until the recent past, was limited to the four walls of the classroom. But no more, credits- the brilliant concept of online learning. Technology and teaching go hand in hand. Visualize this – You, a Brainiac, with an immense thirst for knowledge, holed up in a small town with not-so-good universities.
The thought of leaving behind your family and travelling to big expensive cities is quite an unpleasant one. Why worry though? Online learning, to the rescue! Pick up a laptop, type out a website, and there you go- A world of learning, right there for you, in the very comfort of your house.
Wonderful, isn’t it?
Let Us Talk about MOOCs
MOOCs– short for Massive Open Online Course provide exactly the need of the hour. These are offered by popular universities or institutions across the globe. Here are some of the popular one that you can explore.
Online learning turned mainstream with the gaining popularity of The Khan Academy. If you already don’t know about it (SAY WHAT?!) here’s a bit about them.
As the educator, Salman Khan, puts it- “free world-class education, for anyone, anywhere”.
From tutoring his cousin, to relatives, to friends, and finally, to the entire world, Khan has come a long way. It retains the essence of knowledge by remaining a non-profit organisation, solely working to empower the youth. With donations from Bill and Melinda Gates, Google, Carlos Slim foundation, The Khan Academy has been churning out informative video lectures regularly.
Taking online learning a step further, Coursera offers specialisation courses in some of the world’s best universities, bringing justice to the concept of “Distance Learning”.
The possibility of being able to do a Data Science course from the prestigious John Hopkins University, is a dream come true!
EdX is a non-profit MOOCs founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
If the names of the two bigwigs haven’t blown you over already, you should be made aware that these are actual online courses whose credits can be taken into account in your degree. (depending upon the flexibility of your college)
The pros of Online Learning explained in a nutshell:
