Perusing through some of the MOOC (massive open online course) options available in an open access form revealed two shining stars, Khan Academy and Coursera; one I was already familiar with, having taken courses myself, but the other was unfamiliar, only having been heard of, and vaguely. Khan Academy was something I had not anticipated, and was quite surprised at when a visit was made inevitable. The amount of instruction and the lessons available are mind-blowing, and I guarantee you I will be advocating it to anyone who doesn't know about it, and will be starting some lessons myself very soon. The amount of content is reassuring and uplifting; to be able to freely access this kind of information that allows a person to better themselves in ways that may have been completely unattainable, are now readily available. You can even go to your local library and use the computers there to access the site, in case you don't have that kind of access at home. The material is in a format that allows it to be repeated back as many times as needed so every student can work at their own pace, making it easier than ever to grasp any concept one may be struggling with, and without the frustration of holding up the class or an instructor or tutor. I agree immensely with Khan when he envisions the future of credentialing relying more through the use of online courses. The last thing we need is a facility to hold us back from education, it should accessible is every form available to us, because the technology allows for that now, and at a cost much lower than running an entire facility that is holding staff and students. we can reach the furthest corners of the earth this way, and bring out some of the brilliant minds that are cut-off from the rest of the world because of their geographical location, or the lack of facilities in their part of the world.
Comparing Coursera to Khan Academy, however, is difficult, because in reality they can work in tandem of one another. Khan Academy offering the framework instruction, and Coursera offering the environment to utilize it a format that varies depending on your given expertise or area of interest. Coursera has a unique variety of courses that interest me in areas I'd otherwise not known I'd have an attraction to. In the past I took the creative writing course, and it matched up pretty well, and in some areas exceeded the difficulty of the many literature and writing courses I've taken at Columbus State.I I had a difficult time finding out whether Columbus State accepted the transfer credit, but I believe the answer to that is no, but please correct me if I'm wrong. I never received a credit transfer for the course, but I didn't try either. I'm sure there are classes that may be more difficult than some are use to, but I believe it's because Coursera is specifically seeking out the best of the best instructors to prepare the information for the students, and that's fantastic if they are. Imagine being taught by the leading minds of today for free, or next to nothing in terms of what an education costs. I think MOOC's are going to become more prevalent, and I think the most difficult task is how accreditation will be handled compared to that of a brick and mortar university. I like the idea especially because I can browse around and try out different courses I may have been too intimidated to pursue in college, or couldn't afford to pursue on top of the already expensive costs of secondary education. If I want to give coding a try, I can. Philosophy, what's holding me back? This kind of technology is going to grow the mind of anyone, anywhere, at any time.
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