Of all the changes that the Internet has brought to life, one of the very best has to be the widespread availability of educational and learning materials. Today, if you can get on the net, you have available to you an astounding amount of information. You can virtually learn anything.
But to get the best of the materials available to you , you should start with the best resources. This post, brief though it is, will help you discover the very best educational materials on the Internet.
The Khan Academy
The very best place to start in your virtual classroom is The Khan Academy.
The Khan Academy is the fruit of Salmon Khan, a second generation Bangladeshi American, with multiple degrees from MIT and Harvard. Khan did not start his work life intending to radically transform education. Initially he was an analyst for a hedge fund, albeit one with an amazing intellect.
But in helping out a young cousin in her studies, Khan discovered his passion, and the rest is an amazing set of video tutorials, 3200 strong, hosted at The Khan Academy, as well as via You Tube. Khan’s work has been recognized for its effectiveness, and drawn major financial backing from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google.
The Khan Academy says of itself: ”The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.”
Courses range from math (of all types from K-12), chemistry, physics, finance, history, art history and others. If you are interested in using the web to deepen your knowledge of any of these topics, you should check out The Khan Academy.
Cost? Absolutely free. Value? Priceless.
iTunes U
Another series of amazing learning materials available free for your use is found via Apple’s iTunes U.
Yes, I know, I know. This is an Apple iOS only service.
Right. iTunes U has no Android app. No Windows Phone app.
Now, then, for the bunches of us who have an iPhone, iPod or iPad, lets have a peak at the offerings.
iTunes U features courses from notable universities including Yale, Stanford, Duke, Harvard, UCLA, and many many more. The list is very impressive.
Some universities are obviously using iTunes U more as a means of recruiting students (a disappointing approach indicating that they don’t generally see the potential for the delivery of classes via the Internet).
Others, however, provide full length courses with amazing depth and content. For instance, the General Chemistry course offering from Ohio State University includes 115 video lectures.
To gain the full advantage of iTunes U, it is suggested to use the iOS apps for iTunes U, and not simply use the courses available via iTunes on a Mac or PC.
Wrap Up
This post only barely scratches the surface of what is available online. While I have focused only on two offerings, I wanted to point out that many (most?) universities and colleges are offering courses online. Of course as credit bearing courses they include cost. The Khan Academy and iTunes U are free.
I confess that in light of the astounding cost of traditional universities and colleges, the courses available online seem much more cost effective. There genuinely should be no reason for a world class education to not be available via the Internet.
What has been your experience with online education or training? Would you recommend it? Why or why not?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thad-
Writing about education reform, it may be helpful to understand a fundamental principle vastly underutilized in US schools–insuring that nearly all students get only superficial learning. It’s the strict correlation between practice and skill development of any kind–whether a physical skill or a zone of knowledge. The link following goes to a brief article explaining the idea
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/john-jensen-just-one-teaching-tweak-can-mean-better-learning/
Best regards, John Jensen
Thank you for posting these great examples. Ever since I have learned that there are virtual schools all over the Internet I have been looking for a trustworthy and reputable school to enroll my mother in. Yes, my mother. She would really love to study again but her age and body will not allow her too, so being a good son as I am I was searching and searching until I found your blog. This certainly is a great help.
I think it is cool that your mother wants to study again. I am convinced that continuing to learn keeps us sharp mentally (that, and vitamin B12 in copious doses).
That is pretty crazy Thad…I have never heard of Khan Academy and I don’t own an iAnything.
With that said I’d love to find some time to just watch some of the Khan videos. I’ll be sure to check it out. Just went and bookmarked it!
Khan Academy is a great deal. An utterly amazing resource.
The Khan thing sounds kinda cool. I dont think I could handle physics or chemistry or whatever, but some finance stuff or other things… might be worth my time to check out. I watch Ted videos sometimes, Khan sounds like it might be more worth my time!
This is so interesting, Thad. I’m a big advocate when it comes to education, and this really peaked my passion for learning. The Khan Academy sounds like a such a solid online learning program, Salmon Khan is someone that I would personally consider my ideal hero. I’ll definitely need to look into this further. Thank you, Thad.
I am glad you enjoyed it Tony. Let me know what else you find!
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