Online Courses

10 hrs ago 13

Keep your brain active from the comfort of your living room! It’s winter and many of us are spending more time than usual inside our homes. ASE has been interested in online courses since they became popular in the early... The post Online Courses appeared first on Sharp Eye.

Keep your brain active from the comfort of your living room!

It’s winter and many of us are spending more time than usual inside our homes. ASE has been interested in online courses since they became popular in the early 2000s. Some sources have come and gone, and others have thrived and expanded. In our earlier articles we covered the early free online classes, mostly from large universities. We also focused on online sources to learn how to code. If you have the urge to exercise your brain, here are some newer online sources and specific courses that have been highly recommended to us. You could become a botanist or a French speaking pastry chef by the summer if you start now!

MasterClass offers online classes taught by experts in their fields such as chefs, writers, performers, economists. The classes are designed for learners of all levels and cover a wide range of topics.

Masterclass membership includes access to an incredible catalog of 200+ classes taught by the world’s best on cooking, leadership, photography, writing and more. Each class includes around 20 video lessons that are 10 minutes long on average, along with an in-depth workbook. You also get access to their smartphone and TV apps, offline lessons, members-only newsletter, and their community of members around the world.

The catalog allows users to watch trailers to get a sense of each course. Memberships cost $10 for standard, $15 for the Plus, and $20 for premium per month. Memberships are billed annually.

The Teaching Company is doing business now as The Great Courses. It is a media company which produces excellent educational video and audio lectures in the form of courses, documentaries, and series. The courses are taught by experts and professors from around the world. The courses cover a wide range of topics, to include history, science, literature, philosophy, religion, and more. The courses are considered college level. There are over 975 courses offered.

One standout professor was highly recommended to us. Timothy Taylor is an economist and his course, Economics, 3^rd Edition, was specifically cited as being understandable and excellent. No prior knowledge of economics is necessary. It is currently on sale for $44.95 for 36 lectures.

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/economics-3rd-edition

An annual plan is $12.50 a month, a quarterly plan is $15.00 a month and a monthly plan is $20.00 a month. Great Courses has a 14-day free trial offer.

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a free online collection of courses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It includes video lectures, instructional materials, learning activities, online textbooks. and more. You can use OCW for self-paced learning. OCW began over 20 years ago to create new opportunities for millions of learners and inspire other educational institutions to provide free access to knowledge. There is no enrollment or registration. Freely browse and use OCW materials at your own pace. There’s no signup, and no start or end dates.

This program is made for sharing. Download files for later and/or send to friends and colleagues. Modify, remix, and reuse (just remember to cite OCW as the source.)

There are a wide range of topics – Africana Studies, Environment and Sustainability, Introductory Science & Math, Moral Psychology, Liberalism, Toleration, and Freedom of Speech and much more.

The Big History Project

A close friend has raved about a course she took five or more years ago called Big History and was taught by David Christian. It is a course that “examines our past, explains our present, and imagines our future.” David Christian is a Distinguished Professor of History and Director of the Big History Institute at Macquarie University. To quote from the website, “David is the father of Big History, and has been at the cutting edge of Big History scholarship and the development of Big History courses”. This course covers nearly 14 billion years of history. The course is self-guided and designed for anyone seeking answers to the big questions about the history of our universe. The Big History Project is a completely online course, offering a free, accessible social studies curriculum that covers the history of the universe from the Big Bang to the present day.

For an overview, see David Christian’s TED Talk:

https://www.ted.com/speakers/david_christian

and

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_the_history_of_our_world_in_18_minutes

Udemy offers good free courses like Introduction to Photography, A Mini Course on Time Management, Make Your Writing Stand Out in Eight Easy Steps, public speaking, and many more. Their courses cover both personal and professional development. A Personal Plan is $20.00 a month. and a Team Plan for 2-20 people is $30.00 a month per user.

A Pew research study in 2018 surveyed 4,594 Americans and found that 51% of You Tube users said they relied on it to teach them how to how to do something they didn’t know how to do. You Tube remains a popular platform for learning and accessing a wide range of educational content on topics such as science, technology, history, cooking, DIY projects, and more.

Some of the most popular searches were how to tie a tie, how to draw, and word pronunciation. You Tube content is free.

Their educational resources range from preschool children to adults. There are special channels for Kahn Academy, National Geographic, Minute Physics and many more.

Craftsy is a great resource for creative learning. It offers a wide variety of online classes taught by experienced instructors across various creative and craft categories like quilting, drawing, knitting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery, baking, and cooking, making it a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced crafters looking to learn new skills or improve existing ones. There are over 2,000 classes. Once you buy a class you have access to it forever. All classes come with a money-back guarantee. There are also free mini classes.

Users can buy individual classes (prices vary by class) or buy a subscription. An annual membership is $123.00 a year with a 30-day free trial. If you become a member, you can share the membership with up to three other people.

Howcast has short-form how-to videos that will teach you just about anything. You can learn how to make edible glitter, how to play poker, how to do coin tricks, or how to dance like Michael Jackson, something I have long wanted to do. Howcast videos are distributed on several sites other than its own. You can find them on You Tube and Hulu, for example. I find it easier just to go to the main site of Howcast. All the videos are free.

HHot off the presses! ASE reader Kathy A. sent me this information (all the way from a trip in Australia!) about Savvy Gardening online courses . She just finished a great course on Organic Pest Control for Vegetable Gardens from this online gardening school. Most courses have 6 segments and range in price from $29.00 – $39.00.