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The
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has instituted a new
initiative called “OpenCourseWare” that virtually makes all of the
school’s courses available online for free. This includes lecture notes,
readings, tests and often video lectures.
People from around the
world are accessing this free material. For example, one linear algebra
course has had 1.3 million lectures downloaded since in the first six
months it was online.
MIT's initiative is the
largest, but the trend is spreading. More than 100 universities worldwide,
including Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Notre Dame, have joined MIT in a
consortium of schools promoting their own open courseware. You no longer
need a Princeton ID to hear the prominent guests who speak regularly on
campus, just an Internet connection. In December, Yale announced it would
make material from seven popular courses available online, with 30 more to
follow.
The online courses and
lectures are quickly becoming popular among students who are attending
other universities around the world as a reference source. Some students
are stating that they have trouble understanding the material as it is
presented by their own professors, but now they can try to find online
lectures that perhaps explain things in an easier to understand format.
Universities really
have nothing to lose by putting their courses online. Students can benefit
from the intellectual stimulation of the material, but unless they
register with the university and comply with the course requirements, they
do not receive any credits that can be added to their transcripts. Yet,
the image and credibility of the top professors in the world can certainly
be enhanced.
Indeed, many of the
people who access the online material are themselves instructors who are
seeking resources to assist in the presentation of their own courses.
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