Fromdatabasesthatorganizeover1,000,000studentsthroughout16universitiestoasmalllibraryofdocumentsforthoseinterestedinhistory,theopportunitiesforfreeonlinelearningcontinuetoexpandastheInternetbecomesacrucialcomponentineducation.
TheUMasscoursewareoffersabroadrangeofclassesinareaslikepsychology,biology,earlyeducation,politicalscience,history,mathematics,andothers.Eachdepartmenthasaseparatepagelistingtheclassesavailable.Alongtheside,youaregivenyoursyllabus,assignments,aprofessorbio,andrecommendedreading.
Therearenoslides,videos,orlecturenotes,whichmakesthisopencoursewareinferiortootheruniversitiesthatofferextensiveresources.
Thiswebsitehasavarietyofvideolessonsforfree.Thecoursesubjectsarebrokendownintoparticularlessons,whichisgreatforstudentswhoarelookingtolearnoneprinciplewithouttakinganentirecourse.Forexample,thebiologysubjecthasseparatevideosforevolution,photosynthesis,genetics,andothers.
Ifyoupreferreadingtowatching,thissitemaynotbeforyouasthelessonsareallvideo-based.
Forthoselookingforcoursesthatwilltesteventhebrighteststudent,MITissurenottodisappoint.Youcandownloadallthecoursematerial,whichisnearlyidenticaltothecoursetaughtatMIT(itevengivesyoutheyearandsemesteritwastaught).Sinceitisanon-demandcourse,youdon’thaveanyabilitytoconnectwithotherswhoaretakingit.Itissimplyanindependentstudyforyoutostudyonyourown.
Thissiteisabitdifficulttonavigate,asitisnotaswelldesignedasotheropencoursewarewebsites.Similartomostdatabases,yousearchthroughthesubjectsandcategoriesuntilyoufindtheclassyouwanttotake.OneadvantagetoFree-edWhenyoufindaclassyoulike,thereistheoptiontoclickonnetworking.ItwillnotifyyouifthereareFacebookgroupsorotheronlinegroupsyoucanjointhathaveindividualstakingthecourseyouareinterestedin.
Thiswebsiteoffersdownloadablecourseworkinlotsofdifferentcategorieslikeyouthandchildren,languages,business,engineering,andothers.Whenyoulookthroughthecoursework,youcanviewthemaccordingtotherating.Otheruserscanratetheclass,whichmayhelpyouindecidingwhatcoursetotake.Themainpagedoeswarnthatthereisanewsitedesigncominginthefallof2012,sotheremaybechangessoon.
Tuftsmakesitclearfromthestartthattheircoursesarenotthesameastheonestaughtintheclassroom.Itisuptotheprofessor’sdiscretionwhatispostedforfreeandcommonuse.Youdon’tneedaloginIDtoviewthematerial,andtheprofessors’lecturesareavailableasslides.Sincethereisnotanymoreexplanationbeyondtheslides,itmayrequireyoutodigdeeperinyourownresearchtounderstandthewholelecture.
Thesecoursesareeasytoaccessandfindwithquickbrowsing.EachclasslectureisofferedasanMP3filewithanhtmldocumentthatoutlinestheassignment.Thisisabarebonesprogram,astheassignmentsaresimplyexamstotestyourknowledgeofthematerial.
TheKutztownOn-Demandprogramisfocusedmainlyonbusiness.Youmustfilloutabriefsurveybeforeyoucanaccessthecourse,butthematerialisorganizednicely,withsmallvideoclipsforeachtopic.Youcanstopandstartasyouneedtosinceitisbrokendownintosmallpieces.Asidefromtheslides,therearen’tanyothermaterialstotestyouracquisitionofknowledge.
USQ’scoursewareislimitedwithonlytendifferentcoursesoffered,mostlyintechnology.Themodulesarelaidoutrightonlinewithlecturenotesandtestingassignments.Unfortunately,thereisnowaytonetworkwithanyotherstudentsenrolledinthecourses.
12.UniversityofCaliforniaIrvineCourseware
TheIrvineCoursewareoffersavarietyofclassesindifferentsubjects.Unlikeotheropencoursewareprograms,Irvinedoesofferalinktoinformationaboutgettingacademiccreditforsomeofthecoursesoffered.AlltheinformationforthecourseautomaticallydownloadsasWorddocumentswhenyouclickonthelinks.
Thiswebsiteoffersanarrayofcoursesfromdifferentuniversities.ThemaindifferencebetweenEdXandotheronlinecoursesisthattheclassisaspecificlengthandduration.Whenyousignup,youarecommittingtotheclasstimeandassignments.YoucanregisterforclassesofferedbyHarvard,MIT,Berkeley,andotherprestigiousschools.Ifyouarelookingforaclassyoucandoonyourowntime,thisisn’tthewebsiteforyou.Theclassesherearesimilartopaidonlinelearningclasses.
ThisisoneofthelargestwebsitedatabasesforUniversityopencourseware.LikeEdX,thesecoursesareatasettime(usuallylastingfor10-14weeks).Youcanaccessclassesfrom16differentUniversities’includingPrinceton,Duke,Stanford,andCalTech.Withover1,000,000users,Courserahasestablisheditselfasthecentral“go-to”websiteforfreeonlineUniversitylearning.
15.Udemy
Udemyisanonlineinstitutionthatofferscoursestaughtbyleadingexperts.YoucanchoosefromclassesondevelopingproductsforFacebook,SQLdatabases,Photoshop,MusicTheory,Business,andmanyothers.Udemyalsoallowseverydayexpertstocreatetheirownclass,soyouwillhavetobeselectiveaboutthecoursesyouwanttotakeasanyonecancreateacourse.Thereisabioabouteachinstructor,alongwithanAmazon-likereviewareaforuserstoratethecourseandgivetheiropinionsabouttheclasswork.
ConnectionsAcademyisafreeonlineK-12curriculumforhomeschoolersandotherchildreninnon-traditionalclassroomsettings.Thisacademyreliesheavilyonparentinvolvementwithastated,96%satisfactionpercentage.Eachlessonhasanoverview,alesson,review,andassessment.Therearetools,textbooks,andotherresourcestobolsterthestudent’seducationalexperience.
ThisfreeonlineK-12curriculumisofferedbystate.Currently,only33statesoffertheprogram.Ifyourstateparticipates,alistwillcomeupofacademiesthatyourstudentcanenrollin.K-12isanetworkofschoolsofferingeducation.Itisnotanindependentcurriculumdeveloper.TherearealsoprivateschoolsthatnetworkwithK-12,buttherearetuitioncosts.
GEDforFreeisabasiconlinecourseofferedtostudentswhohavenotbeenabletocompletehighschoolandneedtogettheirGED.Yousimplyfilloutastudentprofileandbeginstudying.ThissiteisonlydesignedtoteachthestudentstheconceptsthatwillbetestedontheGEDexam.Therearenoadvancedcoursesorenrichmentactivities.
Thisisafreeonlinek-12learningsystemthatspecializesinflashcardsasawaytotesttheacquisitionofskills.Theschoolisfreebutifyouwantanaccreditedprogram,whichcomeswithtests,certificates,etc.,youwillneedtopayamonthlyfee.Withoutregistering,youaren’tabletoseemuchabouttheircurriculum,soitisabitdifficulttonavigate.
Thiswebsiteisadatabase,listingclassesbytopic.Foreachclass,thereisasidebarthattellsyouwhatschooloffersit,howmanystudentstookit,andtheinstructor.Unfortunately,theclassmaterialonlycomesinavideolectureformat.Therearenoassignmentsorothermaterials.
OpenCulturehascompiledalistofUniversityfreecourses.Intheirlist,theyidentifywhatformthelecturecomesin(iTunes,Webvideo,YouTube,etc.).Inadditiontocourselistings,theyalsoofferlistsoffreeaudiobooks,freetextbooks,andfreelanguagelessons.Thissitedoesnotofferitsowncurriculum,butratheritcompilesresourcesforeasynavigating.
Thissiteisabare-bonesarchivingofmathcoursesofferedbyNewYorkUniversity.Whenyouclickonaclassyoulike,ittakesyoutoalistoffilesthatareavailableasPDFdocuments.Perhapsthematerialisinteresting,butthepackagingisnotdoneverywell.
OpenYalecoursesofferagreatwebsitethatiseasytonavigateandcomprehensive.Thereareavarietyofsubjectsoffered,whichcaneitherbedownloadedasazipfile,orviewedonline.Eachlecturehasavideo(whichwasrecordedduringtheactualcourseoncampus),plusatranscriptandaPDFofslidesusedduringthepresentation.
Alongtheside,thevideoisbrokenintolecturechapters,soifyoucan’tfinishthewholethinginonesitting,youcancomebacktoitlater.ThereisnoneedtosignuporcreateanID.Yalehasmadeiteasytotaketheircourses.
24.GreshamCollege
GreshamCollegeofferslecturesforstudentsondifferenttopics.Youcanwatchorlistentopastlectures,orattendupcominglectures.ThiscollegeisintheUK,soifyouareinterestedinalecture,you’llhavetowaituntilitispostedonlinetoview.
25.NotreDameOpenCourseware
NotreDamehasanextensivelistofopencoursesavailableontheirsite.Theyarelistedwithsmallbuttonsnexttoeachtitle,signifyingwhatthecourseconsistsof(syllabus,assignments,video,exams,etc.).Whenyouenterthecourse,aleft-handmenubarhelpsyoutonavigatethroughallthedifferentaspectsofthecourse.Therearerequiredreadings,whichmayforceyoutobuytextbooks.Overall,itisahighlyorganizedsiteandeasytonavigate.
TheJHSPHopencoursesarecomprehensive.Choosefromthelistofavailabletopics,andviewthematerialsinacleanandstreamlinedformat.EachlecturecomeswithslidesandanMP3fordownload.Theclasseshaveacalendar,recommendedreadingthis,syllabus,andafinalexam.Theyalsohaveaplaceforyoutoemailandgiveyourcomments.
ThiswebsiteisasmallinitiativeofferedbytheUniversityofWashington.Ithasalistoftencourses,noneofwhichcanbeaccessedwithoutfillingoutalengthyprofileandsignup.ThereareotheruniversitiesthattakemoreprideintheiropencoursewareexperiencethanUW.
Udacityisadigitaluniversitythatspecializesincomputersciencecourses.Theweblayoutisextremelyeasytonavigate.Youaregivenfive-minutevideolectureswithquizzesandassignments.Therearenotextbooksrequired,andeverythingisfree.Inadditiontotheclass,Udacityoffersanonlineforumwherestudentscancollaboratetogether,study,andworkingroups.
Theycanarrangeforyoutotakeaproctoredexamtogaincreditatparticipatinguniversities.Theyevenoffertohandyourresumetopartneringcompanies.Thisinstitutionisabouthelpingthestudentsucceedonalllevels!
29.UniversityofthePeople
UniversityofthePeopleisaprivateonlinetuition-freeuniversity.Youapplyjustlikeyouwouldforatraditionalinstitution,andtheycurrentlyofferanAssociate’sandBachelor’sdegreeincomputerscienceandbusinessadministration.TheyarecurrentlyseekingaccreditationfromtheUS.DepartmentofEducation.
Thisuniversityworkslikeatraditionalonlinedistancelearningdegreeprogram,whereyousignupforclasses,interactwithotherstudents,professors,andcompleteassignments.Itisagreatoptionforthosewhowantacollegeeducationexperiencebutdon’thavethemoneytodoit.
AcademicEarthisawebsitethathelpsstudentsfindadegreeprogramoftheirchoice.Theydoofferfreelectures,butthatisnottheirmainfocus.Instead,itisgearedtowardsmatchingstudentswiththerightonlinedegreeprogram.
Whilethisisnotanonlineeducationsite,thegovernmenthascreatedalibraryoffilespertainingtoAmerica’shistory,literature,townsandcities,technology,war,andotherimportanttopics.Thesefilesarefreetoaccessandread,andcanbolsterastudentinterestedinthesocialsciences.
Alisonisafreeonlineeducationinstitutionthatofferslectures,videos,andclassmaterialsonvariousdifferenttopicslikenursingandeducation.Inordertoenterthecourse,youmustfirstsignup.Eachcoursehasasummarypage,whichoutlinesthematerialsprovided,theinstructor,asyllabus,andtheamountoftimeitwilltaketoaccomplish.Thesiteitselfisn’taseasytonavigateassomeoftheothers.
WebcastBerkeleyhasaverysimplemodel.Yousimplywatcharecordingoftheclassthataprofessortaughtoncampus.TherearenosigninID’s,assignments,orotherresources.Itissimplysomethingyouwatchandabsorb.Someoftheclassesonlyofferaudiolectures.Ifyouarelookingforabitmorestructure,thisschoolisn’tforyou.
Thiswebsiteadvertisesfreecourses,lessons,andapps.Ratherthangettingadegree,theclassesaretailoredtoaspecificskilllike,“LearnMicrosoftWord.”Thelayoutisabitcomplicated,soitwilltakesomepatiencetonavigatethepagestofindwhatyouwant.
37.e-LearningCenter500
Thee-LearningCenteroffersamodestselectionofcoursesincustomerservice,software,andcomputerscience.Inordertoaccessthecourse,youmustfirstsignup.Thislimitsaviewer’sabilitytoseewhatisofferedwithoutfirstmakingacommitment.
MasterClassManagementisawebsitedesignedsolelyforthosestudentsinterestedinabusinessdegree.Youreceiveacertificateattheendofeachclass.Unfortunately,itseemsthissiteismoreexcitedaboutreceivingmoneythroughadvertising,astheGoogleAdsarestrategicallyplacedrightabovethe“next”button.Forsomeonewhoisnottech-savvy,theymayclickontheadsthinkingthatisthenextstep.
Thissiteofferscoursesnotreadilyfoundatotherschools.Youcantakeaclassinstrengtheningmarriage,familyhistory,honesty,righteousness,andotherreligioustypetopics.Inordertoviewtheclass,youmustregisterfirst.
AttheUniversityofMichiganOpencourseware,youcanchoosefromasubstantialvarietyoftopics.Theinformationallgetsdownloadedtoyourcomputer,afteryou’vereadthesynopsis.Thereisnointeractivecomponentorabilitytonetworkwithotherstudents.
42.NLCOpenLearningCourses404
TheNLCwebsiteisverybasic,onlyofferingafewclasses.Theseclassesaresimplyacollectionofwebpageswithinformation.Thereisnotalotthathasbeendonetodevelopthisprogram,solookelsewherefirstbeforeusingthiswebsite’smaterials.
ThiswebsiteispartoftheIndiraGandhiNationalOpenUniversity.Freecoursesareavailableafteryouhaveregistered,thoughthesitedoesmakeitclearthatthecoursesareindependent,andthereisnoaccesstoaprofessor.However,thereisanonlineforumattachedtothewebsitethatallowsyoutocollaboratewithyourpeers.
TheCapilanoUniversityoffersamodestselectionofcoursesforindependentstudy.Whenyouenterthecourse,youareprovidedwithaninstructorbio,syllabus,assignments,andlecturenotes.Itisasimplewebsite,easytonavigate,andgreatforthemotivatedandindependentlearner.
TUDelftofferscoursesatboththebachelorandmasterlevel,arrangedbydegreeprogram.Youwillhaveaccesstolecturenotes,exams,andassignmentsinabroadrangeoftopicsandsubjects.Itiseasytonavigate,free,andrequiresnosign-in!
Asonlineeducationcontinuestoexpand,astudent’sopportunitieswillgrowaswell.Moreandmore,traditionaluniversitiesareseeinganeedtoreducethecostofeducationandkeepstudentsinterestedintheirprograms.Privatecompaniesarealsotakingtheopportunitytocreatedynamicprogramsthatarefreeandaccessibletoanyone!