Thursday, December 29, 2016

COURSERA: A platform for transforming lives through free/ low-cost, online education

Coursera was founded in 2012. This program provides a world where anyone, anywhere can transform their life by accessing the best learning experience. The program is  provided by the world’s top universities and education providers.  With 148 university partners across 29 countries, Coursera has built a platform where they offer 1,957 courses. The courses have been viewed/studied by 22 million learners. Resulting in 600,000 course certificates being earned.  You may explore course materials for free using the audit option but if you want to earn a course certificate, you have to switch to the paid option. 

The courses, each priced at $29-$99 (approx), allow you to learn a new skill and earn a course certificate in 4-6 weeks .  Courses include: recorded video lectures, auto-graded and peer reviewed assignments, and community discussion forums.  To master a specific career skill, you may join a specialization where you complete a number of courses, tackle hands-on projects, and earn a specialization certificate.  This involves 4-6 months of online study and costs $250-$500. For those interested, online degree programs are offered  for 1-3 years of study. They are available in business, computer science, and data science.

 The categories of courses offered are as follows:
·         Arts and humanities
o   history
o   Music & Art
o   Philosophy
·         Business
o   Leadership & Management
o   Finance
o   Marketing
o   Entrepreneurship
o   Business Essentials
o   Business Strategy
·         Computer science
o   Software Development
o   Mobile & Web Development
o   Algorithms
o   Computer Security & Networks
o   Design & Product
·         Data science
o   Data Analysis
o   Machine Learning
o   Probability & Statistics
·         Language & learning
o   Learning English
o   Other Languages

·         Life sciences
o   Animals & Veterinary Sciences
o   Bio informatics
o   Biology
o   Medicine & Healthcare
o   Nutrition
o   Clinical Science
·         Math & logic
o   65 sub-categories
·         Personal development
o   100 sub-categories
·         Physical science & engineering
o   Electrical Engineering
o   Mechanical Engineering
o   Chemistry
o   Environmental Science & Sustainability
o   Physics & Astronomy
o   Research Methods
·         Social sciences
o   Economics
o   Education
o   Governance & Society
o   Law
o   Psychology

To explore the Coursera website and identify a course to start the ball rolling for you, please click here.


Posted by Dr. Nat Tuivavalagi 

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