Learn online, for free - many courses now available

One exciting trend is the development of courses online.

My post below: "Learn to code, online, for free" mentioned Codecademy, a site where you can learn to program.  I am enrolled, learning, progressing (the site provides motivation as well) and enjoying it.

In his blog, Clay Shirky wrote about online education and outlined, in his erudite style, the model, dynamics, economics and issues around free open online courses.  He discusses the arrival of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and compares them to education currently available.

There are criticisms of online courses (Shirky refers to this article in the New York Times) and there are questions about the things that online courses cannot provide, such as the strength of face-to-face social networks and the compelling immediacy of a good lecturer (filmed lectures can have a disconnected, other-worldly quality).

All that said, the fact is that online courses are a boon for the lifelong learner, providing resources to learn new fields.

Here is a list of sites where you can get online education:

• Open Culture list of online courses
• Udacity
• Coursera
• Peer to Peer University (P2PU)
• University of the People
• Codecademy

So what is all this information doing to you?

A view from the ABC's Catalyst program:

"On October 29th, 1969, the world's first internet message was sent between two computers in California. It consisted of the letter 'L', followed by 'O'. Then the system crashed..."

The report takes up the story forty years later at: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3613311.htm (eight minutes).

Edge.org

Food for thought at Edge.org
Each year, they ask a panel of "sophisticated minds" a question and then publish the answers. In previous years, they asked:

• what are you optimistic about?

• what questions have disappeared?

• what scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit?

• how is the Internet changing the way you think?

This year's is "What should we be worried about?"
It sound like a grim read, but it isn't.  It is interesting.
Then again, if you are sleeping too soundly...give it a try.

Learn to code, interactively, for free

"When human beings acquired language, we learned not just how to listen but how to speak. When we gained literacy, we learned not just how to read but how to write. And as we move into an increasingly digital reality, we must learn not just how to use programs but how to make them."
The opening lines to Douglas Rushkoff's book Program Or Be Programmed.

On his blog, Daniel points to Codecademy, a website you can use to "learn to code, interactively, for free".  I have tried it.  It is a great resource.

www.codecademy.com