MIT Is Offering All Of Their Courses Online, To Anyone, For Free

Boston, Mass. – For learners who don’t want to invest in a full residential college ride, or who want to avoid the massive amounts of debt associated with university studies, a program called MITx could be a viable alternative.

With the advent of the internet came a revolution of information becoming available to the average person. MIT University took it one step further when they began a program called OpenCourseWare, which allowed anyone to download full course materials for virtually all classes for free.

But the new MITx interactive online learning platform will go further, giving students access to online laboratories, self-assessments and student-to-student discussions.

The freeing of information, by enabling people to study any subject available at MIT, was a great advancement for the ability of people to grow their knowledge base without having to go to college. The drawback is that there was no credentialing for learners that chose to utilize the program, thus providing minimal professional benefit.

In light of that fact, MIT began a program called MITx, which offers an “MIT –sanctioned certificate” for the completion of courses.

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a reply to: wasaka

Thanks for the heads up!

Also, YALE offers a number of online and video courses for FREE as well!

a reply to: wasaka
I'm into this, thanks.

This is awesome. People shouldn't have to pay a premium to access knowledge. Knowledge should be free.

Now if only earning accredited degrees through this process was free as well.

Yeah, I was watching this one just the other day - *very* good stuff...



ETA: I took core physics courses many moons ago in college and even took an elective Big Bang course, but I am far from an expert on this stuff - I was surprised that I found this very watchable, which speaks to the caliber of the professor, I think.

The UniversityX programs are nothing really all that new. Though MIT's is fairly expansive. It does not include the direct course materials one would take for say profession. There are many courses omitted and will likely continue to be so.

UC Berkeley, Oxford, and even Cambridge all also offer these resources. But one should not kid themselves, they're not the same as taking a physical class at even a local university. But they are nice to have just as resources. Even extension schools don't tend to hold the same merit as a physical campus does.

a reply to: Shugo

But does it look good on a resume?

a reply to: wasaka

If you mean these courses, it doesn't mean much on a professional resume because you didn't actually get anything to show for that course work, you didn't take the time to actually attend the university.

If you mean the extension schools, well...that's a gray area. What I've been told by my instructors at a few of these universities is that you can go to a place like your state university and get a degree that will hold just as much weight as the extension program from these universities, simply because the entry process is weaker for them than the mainstream, and they're still online degrees. My understanding is that they aren't as valuable.

originally posted by: wasaka
a reply to: Shugo

But does it look good on a resume?

Lol... if watching online university lectures improves ones resume then I should be able to get any job in the world with my resume.

a reply to: wasaka

Online and Extension Universities are best when you just need the "official" document saying you have X degree.

They don't hold much weight for someone who's looking for genuine brick and mortar grads. But those people usually look for Ivy League anyway, so even a more traditional university is worthless in those eyes.

On the other hand, having a degree from a local university is sometimes a good mark on your resume when applying for work in the same region the college was in.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Well to be fair, there's still no reason to not watch the lectures and do some of the activities those courses provide. It can make taking them much easier at your university level. But yeah, all they'd do is irritate your potential employer, and honestly...would probably move you farther to the bottom of the candidate list. You don't get any certification for these classes, therefore they're not something that's really applicable on a resume.

originally posted by: Shugo
a reply to: wasaka

If you mean these courses, it doesn't mean much on a professional resume because you didn't actually get anything to show for that course work, you didn't take the time to actually attend the university.

Well that's not exactly true actually. If you do a university course through a platform like coursera, in some cases there's a teacher who leads the class and grades students at the end. You have to submit assignments and stuff like that too. I don't ever do the work, I just watch the lectures because the courses are free.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Just because you receive a grade, does not mean you receive valid certification or credit that is applicable on a resume in a professional or academic environment.

I can go to my school right now and take all the classes and not pay a dime, but they're not going to give me the paperwork that actually counts on the resume that's actually a testament to the fact the classes were genuine and I did the material.

originally posted by: Shugo
a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Just because you receive a grade, does not mean you receive valid certification or credit that is applicable on a resume in a professional or academic environment.

As I said I've never completed a course properly so I'm not sure what they give you if you pass but I'm pretty sure some courses are credited and you receive some sort of certificate at the end, but I'm not totally sure how it all works. But I do know they have some really high quality material on coursera which cannot be found anywhere else.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

That might be true, but the problem most graduate programs would have with this is:

for-profit educational technology company that offers massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Regardless if you took that universities courses on Coursera, you would be required to take them again on the campus before being admitted for their graduate program.

For example, Ashford does a similar thing to what Coursera does in a physical campus. If I as a LA/BA Major complete the courses at Ashford and receiver their degree, I can not go to the University of Chicago to get my masters and doctorate. Why? Because the courses are not guaranteed to be taught by someone of an accredited university. I would have to take those courses again, or equivalent to show I know the material Ashford says I do.

At any rate, the question was do they look good on resumes? That answer is a flat out: no. Not only are they not applicable on resumes without completing an entire certification program that's actually a certificate that's issued by the university, but even if they were...it wouldn't be "free." A high school diploma is a certificate, a G.E.D., a degree, a doctorate...but not a printed off notification that says "I completed the online course at so and so university for free."

a reply to: Shugo

Not only are they not applicable on resumes without completing an entire certification program that's actually a certificate that's issued by the university, but even if they were...it wouldn't be "free."

Well coursera has a partnership with many universities and many of the courses actually have university teachers overseeing them. If they really wanted to they could give out fully credited certificates, but you are right they don't seem to do that. The certificates they do offer don't carry university credit. But their specialization certificates do seem to carry a bit of weight.

Thanks for posting this. What a nice thing for them to do.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

You are correct. Those services do have some weight (I think last I checked they were half importation credit - but that has been a couple of years now). I think there's a fee for those too, though I might be wrong.

I am very disappointed in the amount of content they provide on some topics. I was checking out the entrepreneurship section and the only information they had up was a in class slide shows. Cant really do much with that.
But still pretty cool.

a reply to: JamesCarrot

Consider the university you're referring to though. There are most likely other universities out there that might provide a more comprehensive and in depth look at the topic you are looking for. Don't get discouraged. Keep looking!