And I have now experience my first long post being eaten by the Internet... :glare:
Saylor online courses are my current favorite OCW for several reasons: 1) Majority is composed of free online resources, meaning I don't have to price and buy things like with MIT OCW; 2) Majority of the courses have time advisories per unit, making it easier for me to figure out whether to give half or full credit to a course; 3) If you pass the final exam at the end of each course you get a certificate of completion.
The site is still a work in progress, but there are forums to discuss each course and an Eportfolio system which keeps track of courses you're working through and have completed (I believe you can also later print off a transcript, but I'm not certain on that).
I do wish occasionally that I had known about sites like NROC and Saylor when I first started high school as it would have avoided so many rough bumps in the road with me agonizing over how to piece together inexpensive resources or debating which typical, although rather expensive, curriculum to buy that would work for me (I have ranged from a video/audo course to actual textbooks that didn't work and had to deal with my mom's wavering faith in homeschooling with each monetary loss impacting our tight budget). These sites provide a structured yet flexible path for me.
(If I wasn't so worried about having to be on another's schedule--something that isn't possible at the moment--I would love to dip into either the fantasy/scifi or greek/roman mythology course at Coursera. :001_smile:)
And now I'm crossing my fingers that this post goes through.