Want to learn something new ? Want to enhance your skills but have no time to attend a training session ? No worries, MOOC is here. MOOC or Massive Open Online Course is a unique model that allows you to access course contents for free over the internet. MOOCs have taken learning out of the traditional class rooms. So all you need now is a computer/tablet/smart phone with a working internet connection and of course the eagerness to learn. I’m myself an eager learner and have enrolled and completed numerous courses online. So let’s find out What is MOOC and How it will help you.
Most of the top universities in the world are offering free access to their course content. So now you can learn Business Administration from Wharton or Python Programming from Stanford right from your couch. The assortment of courses on offer is vast. You can learn anything right from Arts, Humanities, Law, Language, Technology, Science, and much more. Every course has a specific duration, it can last from 2-3 weeks to years in case of a series course (Series course are a collection of multiple courses under one specialization, it’s like learning C#, Python, Java which make up the Computer Programming specialization)
Access to the course is free, meaning you can access the content, assignments whenever you want and will get a participation certificate for it. But if you want to get a ‘verified’ certificate, then you might have to pay a small fee – anywhere from 2500INR upwards. Verified Certificates are provided to applicants who have verified their identity. Usually a government ID card and a webcam are required for verification.
If you are looking to learn something new that interests you or maybe enhance your skill set, MOOCs are a great way of doing that. Without spending much, you will be taught by the best professors from the best universities. Further, the certificates that you ‘earn’ after course completion are a great value addition in your curriculum vitae. You can boast of your new skills and show the world the eagerness you have to learn and try out new things.
There are many online services that are providing some great MOOC content in collaboration with some top universities. Some of the well-known service are EdX, Coursera, Udacity, Udemy. Even the Indian HRD Ministry has launched NPTEL – National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning. NPTEL provides access to courses from various fields from IITs, IIMs, NITs and IISC.
So you now know What is MOOC and How it will help you. You can simply register on the above mentioned websites and start learning for free. If you have any issues, concerns, suggestions please comment on the post, I shall be more that happy to help you out.