Everyday is a challenge. We learn new things, and we practice relearning the old stuff, which can somewhat be boring but fun when you get really great at it. Taking an online course can be difficult, especially because we're all adjusted to the normal way of how things are: Newton's first Law of motion playing it's role in real life. Honestly, I've never done any online courses, so I decided to go ahead and try out a couple this summer, 2015. And things are never going to be the same again.
Well, it was a course on "Learn how to learn", a course based on cognitive psychology. It was simple, but a eye-opening. We were taught how our brain and mind function (in layman terms, using a pin-ball machine analogy), and the fact that our brain and mind can be fooled by us to gain greater efficiency. It was a fun course, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After 3 weeks, it was completed, and marks were assigned. I noticed, the course was extremely student friendly, easy to follow through and the presentation was immaculate. There were tests too, and a final exam, which wasn't VERY difficult. There is a ton of free academic material on the internet, and MOOCs have been helping students especially in the developing countries to get the benefit of quality education at the cost of an internet connection. Coursera, Edx, Khan Academy, MIT OCWs, Udacity, Open2study, FutureLearn, iTunes free courseware, Stanford free material, etc (There are way too many names to remember, so check the Wikipedia page). There's even more material available at Youtube, which has a diversity from fun,short, animated videos to lengthy but content rich selections.
Education knows no bounds and MOOCs have certainly helped spread wisdom and knowledge in a vivacious and easy way. It one of the greatest gifts the internet has given us.
Well, it was a course on "Learn how to learn", a course based on cognitive psychology. It was simple, but a eye-opening. We were taught how our brain and mind function (in layman terms, using a pin-ball machine analogy), and the fact that our brain and mind can be fooled by us to gain greater efficiency. It was a fun course, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After 3 weeks, it was completed, and marks were assigned. I noticed, the course was extremely student friendly, easy to follow through and the presentation was immaculate. There were tests too, and a final exam, which wasn't VERY difficult. There is a ton of free academic material on the internet, and MOOCs have been helping students especially in the developing countries to get the benefit of quality education at the cost of an internet connection. Coursera, Edx, Khan Academy, MIT OCWs, Udacity, Open2study, FutureLearn, iTunes free courseware, Stanford free material, etc (There are way too many names to remember, so check the Wikipedia page). There's even more material available at Youtube, which has a diversity from fun,short, animated videos to lengthy but content rich selections.Education knows no bounds and MOOCs have certainly helped spread wisdom and knowledge in a vivacious and easy way. It one of the greatest gifts the internet has given us.
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