Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC/mu:k/) are a platform of online courses for students and also to professionals to explore their curiosity when it comes to knowledge. The last few decades have witnessed a massive increase in the number of its takers. MOOCs are one of the great outcomes of the advancing information technological age which has made the learning easily accessible and simplified in a sense that anyone can take up these courses regardless of their academic background.
Being associated with almost 15 MOOCs since a past year, it has been a wonderful journey for me to learn from these courses. From physics and astronomy to psychology to even human resources and photography, digital learning has struck the chord for me. Learning varied courses which are out of the routinized pen-paper academic education has proved to be an ''addiction'' for me!
Moreover, these courses bring in a whole lot of advantages which I believe are unique in their self. A few of them have been elaborated in the following.
Being associated with almost 15 MOOCs since a past year, it has been a wonderful journey for me to learn from these courses. From physics and astronomy to psychology to even human resources and photography, digital learning has struck the chord for me. Learning varied courses which are out of the routinized pen-paper academic education has proved to be an ''addiction'' for me!
Moreover, these courses bring in a whole lot of advantages which I believe are unique in their self. A few of them have been elaborated in the following.
- Everyone's cup of tea:
- Wallet friendly:
- Professional teachers and guides:
The courses are taught by teachers who have a considerable amount of experience in the topic they are explaining. Coursera, in this aspect scores heavily with respect to some of its other competitors. Both, the universities (around the world) and Coursera collaborate to provide such courses where the universities ask their tutors to take up the video lectures. Coursera maintains a database of all such teachers and universities and students can often learn more about their tutors with such databases.
- An easy ride:
- E for Everything:
Till date, Udemy has almost 30,000 courses on various topics whereas Coursera offers a catalog of 1200 courses from well known universities around the world.
Just type in your interest and I'm sure you wont be disappointed . You are not only offered to learn just about the professional courses such as science and management but also there are some great courses to develop your soft skills and personality.
- A certified interest:
Ever thought of getting a certificate just because you can cook or fix some broken gadget in your house?
Well, for every completed course you are always rewarded with a small recognition of your newly learned ability which you can obviously flash in your curriculum vitaé. So rather than learning how to play guitar by watching free videos online, taking up a free course with a certificate from a recognized institute is much more rewarding and professional.
Coursera rewards you a free statement of accomplishment or a paid verified certificate from the primary institution which offered the course.
Some universities such as MIT, Howard and Stanford also offer their own MOOC platforms.
- Career Exploration:
If you are a confused head looking to find some new exciting careers, you might wanna enroll yourself into such courses to help you recognize your passion and assist you in taking up a right career for yourself. For example, Brown University recently conducted a small course about various possible specializations in engineering which gave a sense of what all possibilities might exist in the vast field of engineering.
MOOCs offer high school students with a chance to
experiment with and explore potential careers in any number of specialized
areas that are typically not examined at the high school level.
- Standout addition in your CV:
While learning is one of the major outcomes of
these courses, one of the major advantage is the enhancement of your CV. Some
universities prefer the candidates who have completed their MOOC offering when
they apply to their universities for their degree programs.We have many example
such as this Mongolian
teen who completed his MIT electronics MOOC which gained him a
seat in the prestigious technology institute. It showcases the knowledge
about the subject you possess before you actually step in the professional
career. MOOCs definitely uplifts your college application
as discussed in this article.
- New global connections:
When it comes to distance learning , people usually think that they wont be able to socialize with their peers and tutors during their course work.However, it is untrue. Every distance learning program brings in various discussion forums where you can interact with all the people taking the course along with you. MOOCs being globally accessible to all, they can support thousands of students taking the course at the same time. Students usually form a small study group to enhance the learning experience and learn more about each other.
For example, I have been a part of many study groups where we have formed a small community on platforms such as Google+ to encourage our learning.
- Professional development:
HR departments of various companies have come with an effective idea of introducing MOOCs for their possible new employees to learn more about the company and also conduct various training sessions. This helps them filter out the the candidates which do not fit the job profile and retain the ones which are likely to serve the company in a better way.
Popular MOOC platforms:
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