Learn Linux for free from Harvard and MIT

The Linux Foundation will offer a Linux development course on edX, the massive open online course (MOOC) platform developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. The move is part of an edX effort to expand its course offerings to include content from non-academic institutions.

The MOOC will offer the same material that is taught in its ‘Introduction to Linux’ class. Its content is designed for people with little to no experience in Linux and open source. People can start taking the MOOC this summer; the precise date will be announced next month.

The MOOC Linux class will be free and available to anyone with a Web connection, though the foundation normally charges US$ 2,500 for the course that is already taught online and in person via authorised training partners.

Previously, all edX content came from the Linux Foundation’s 32 member schools that include University of California (Berkeley), Dartmouth College and McGill University.

The non-academic institutions that will join the edX exercise include International Monetary Fund, The Smithsonian Institution and Inter-American Development Bank. Seven academic institutions that joined edX members are from the likes of Colgate University, Hamilton College and Open Courseware Consortium.