Monday, February 11, 2013

Upgrading our Gray Matter


The world of education is changing and we are so excited! This month we have been diving in to free online classes.  There are some great options popping up, one of our favorites being Coursera.   Their mission is to bring top-notch education to everyone by making it accessible and free online.  I love being able to follow my interests and learn about areas of life that fascinate me, for my enjoyment and fulfillment.  I feel most alive when I am learning something new.

I decided to begin my Coursera journey with one class, 'Developing innovative ideas for New Companies'.  This course is offered by the University of Maryland and there are over 85,000 people enrolled in the class!   Obviously this idea is exciting to many people around the world.  The format for most Coursera courses is video lectures, which include quizzes embedded in the videos, and larger tests at the end of each section.  The time commitment is listed in the description of each course.

The other new education opportunity we've been adding to our arsenal is Codeacademy.  It is a free online coding 'school'.  They offer interactive courses in web fundamentals, jQuery, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and API's.  I am currently learning JavaScript.  These are not time structured so I log on whenever I have a moment and learn a little more coding.

There are other online class hubs like Canvas.  I am currently taking a Digital Media course through Peninsula college on Canvas.  I'm sure there are other options as well.  If you are a life long learner, I recommend following your passions through any of these learning opportunities. 

1 comment:

Lindsay said...

Just signed up for an Algebra class on Udacity. Gettin my sexy nerd on: