Jump to content

Menu

Best free online courses? OCW? MOOC?


Recommended Posts

We've used Khan Academy before. I see they have changed the website a lot over the past year!

 

I briefly glanced at Coursera, edEX, Class Central, and a few other websites today. WOW! These have REALLY changed and improved over the last few years!  They seem to be like The Great Courses... are they?

 

Aside from Khan, which I am familiar with.....

 

What do you think is the best?

 

Should I just order some courses from The Great Courses? I'd rather do something FREE!

 

Some courses have "starting dates". Are these courses taught at a certain time and day? Once the course is finished can you go back and watch lectures again? ( We need something pre-recorded and self-paced, I think.)

 

Do you get textbooks? Do assignments? Only watch lectures?

 

Can we watch on TV or only computer?

 

Any and all info needed from experienced moms that use any of these (or other) websites!!

 

Thanks!

Pam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, etc. are MOOCs that have starting dates and deadlines. In other words, they are not exactly self-paced, but edX sometimes archives their courses for self-paced study. Coursera also has a few self-paced courses as well.

 

However, if you are looking for sites that are all self-paced, I highly recommend:

  • Saylor Academy (saylor.org): Over 300 college courses including math, science, english, social studies, and so much more
  • ALISON (alison.com): Numerous courses in a wide variety of subjects
  • Homeschool College USA (homeschoolcollegeusa.com): Does not offer complete courses, but it does list out a variety of resources organized into subjects so that you can put together your own course of study

I have links to other sites as well, but I find that the above three are some of the best sites for free online courses.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Georgia Virtual Learning (gavirtuallearning.org/Resources/SharedLandingPage.aspx) is an online school, but they offer their course materials online for free. The only thing that they do not have is assessments.

 

Also, the mom who created Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (allinonehomeschool.com) for grades K-8 also created Easy Peasy All-in-One High School (allinonehighschool.com).

 

Hope this helps.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

First, I would recommend that you and your student make a list of all the courses they wish to take through high school.

 

For example, if your student wishes to take a biology course, look at all of the sites and their biology courses. After you have perused them and tried them out, choose the site(s) that fit your student well. I would choose a primary source, and perhaps a few supplements if necessary.

 

If you have any questions regarding these sites, let me know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgot to mention this in the other thread:  http://www.gpb.org/chemistry-physics/students/physics  It's worth a look to see if your ds could handle the math in this. If you decide you want to use it, contact them early to ask about getting teacher materials, and be patient!  I contacted them years ago about the chemistry, and it took a few weeks for the lady who put together the materials to get back to me.  At that time, the requirement was proof of purchase of one of the videos on Amazon (around $30) plus some proof of homeschooling, but you'll want to ask to be sure.

 

www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com has free online classes, thanks to the generosity of some kind homeschoolers who are willing to share what they do.  The at-your-own-pace courses can be joined at any time, and you can pick and choose what you want to use.  (If your ds is having any trouble with Apologia chemistry, he might find some help there.) The live courses are on a schedule.  Registration is in the summer. 

 

More free video courses:  http://academicearth.org/online-college-courses/  The courses vary in length and are compiled from numerous other sources.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another suggestion is Yale Ocw. They have limited classes, but they seem to be consistent in how much material is available online, syllabus, readings, videos. 

 

Also, Carnegie Mellon OCW has several free courses. I haven't looked at them as much and they seem to have rotated some classes recently. 

thanks  

 

direct link to courses:

 

http://oli.cmu.edu/learn-with-oli/see-our-free-open-courses/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...