With the amount of information that is available on the internet it is possible for homeschooling students to learn from experts sitting at their computers. The recent explosion of free course online for the mass public offers one more resource that the home schooling parents can use.
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What are MOOCs?
MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses. These are based on a variety of subjects such as computer programming to artificial intelligence and psychology to English Literature. There are courses in almost all disciplines that exist in regular schools and colleges. They provide you with a course outline and then follow it up with video lectures and share written material detailing what has been taught. The students also have to do exercises and pass exams to get their certification.
Who runs these courses?
Depending on the website which is offering the MOOCs the teachers are all experts from different universities or from the professional arena. For instance the website Coursera.org has a tie up with a number of major universities in North America, Canada and Europe. If the course on basic computers is being conducted by a teacher from Stanford University, a course on introduction to psychology is being taught by a professor from the University of Toronto.
Who can learn from these websites?
Any one who has access to the internet can learn from these websites. The courses have been sponsored by organizations such as the Gates Foundation which wants to make knowledge available to all individuals. They are specially designed to be easily accessible to people who have not had an opportunity to study in college. Currently the maximum number of courses are conducted in English and so knowledge of the language is also pertinent.
How good are the resources provided?
The people teaching these courses have enough experience in the real world of teaching students in classrooms, so they do provide quality instructions and resources. Some courses are available as self study at your own pace, while others follow a schedule allowing students to conduct practical experiments along the way. On the whole the courses provide a good way for homeschooling students to learn from experts without leaving the house.
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