It’s Time to MOOC! — massive open online courses
Now that the coronavirus is disrupting daily life, you are probably spending less time out and about, and more time at home. That presents a perfect opportunity to “MOOC.”
If you have not come across MOOC’s, the acronym stands for “Massive Open Online Courses.”
An example of a MOOC is Coursera, founded in 2012 by two Stanford University computer science professors, Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng, whose vision was to provide “lifetransforming learning experiences to anyone, anywhere.” I don’t know about you, but I could sure use some lifetransforming experiences right now.
Coursera offers transformative online courses, including those taught by professors from the Ivies. Let me give you a few examples of what you can study while relaxing with your laptop.
For investors: Financial Markets from Yale University; Behavioral Finance from Duke University; Bonds & Stocks from University of Michigan.
For business: English for Career Development from University of Pennsylvania; Introduction to Marketing from University of Pennsylvania; Algorithms from Princeton University.
For readers and writers: English for Journalism from University of Pennsylvania; and Modern & Contemporary American Poetry from Pennsylvania.
For art enthusiasts: Age of Cathedrals from Yale University; and Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society from University of Pennsylvania.
For everybody: Introduction to Climate Change and Health from Yale University; The Science of Well-Being from Yale University; Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for
Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator from Yale University.
This is a very short list. Coursera offers more than 4,000 courses, plenty to keep you engaged and informed. In addition to “fun” courses, Coursera also offers 400+ specializations, 8
MasterTrack certificates, 15 professional certificates and 17 degrees. Some are free; some are paid.
Specializations give you a chance to master a career skill and earn a specialization certificate. You can master a skill in four to six months, according to Coursera. Pricing starts at $39 per month.
Professional certificates offer a way to get “job ready” to start a new career over about a year.
MasterTrack certificates offer a university certificate that can count toward a master’s degree. This program is built on online masters’ program modules. As Coursera puts it: “You can earn a high quality university-issued career credential at a breakthrough price in a flexible, interactive format.” Prices start at $2,000.
If you want to earn a university degree (undergraduate or masters), you can do that too, and you don’t have to go through an application process. You can start learning as soon as today. Coursera gives you the option of building your own schedule over one to four years of study. The complete price starts at roughly $9,000.
Considering the fact that the coronavirus is sending kids home before the school year is completed, online classes will likely become more popular. Coursera is helping the cause.
According to Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera’s CEO, Coursera is providing every impacted university in the world with free access to its course catalog through Coursera for Campus.
Universities can sign up to provide their enrolled students with access to more than 3,800 courses and 400 specializations from Coursera’s top university and industry partners.
If you would like to learn more, here are some resources. For more information about Coursera, go to https://about. coursera.org/. For the coronavirus programs, read “Helping universities and colleges take learning online in response to the coronavirus” by Jeff Maggioncalda (March 12, 2020) at https://tinyurl.com/ u2qyuar.
Another resource is the classcentral. com website. Check out “A Guide on How to Sign up for Coursera Courses for Free” at https://tinyurl.com/vrhqr5p and “Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free” at https://tinyurl.com/tgy7l6u.
If you think you might MOOC, let me know. I’m curious. And, let me know if you enjoy reading this column; I’m looking for feedback. Readers@juliejason. com.