It’s Open Education Week. Having a blog that seeks to educate, and being someone who has taken advantage of open education, it was time I put this out there. I often get in trouble for saying it, but not everybody should go to school after high school. Since the first day of Pre-K, people told me I need a college degree. They often referred to it as “that piece of paper.” But the reality is, not everyone needs “that piece of paper” and many people are better off without it. Modern higher education is fed much like the housing market was before the bubble collapsed–that is by easy money carelessly dispensed to anyone with their hands out, especially those least able to afford it. Being businesses, they’ll invent all sorts of majors to attract that free money.
Don’t be mistaken, I’m not saying universities are absolutely evil and unnecessary. Many professions need formal institutions to standardize core knowledge. Technical schools also have great value. In addition, any degree can have a non-monetary value if the subject means a lot to the student. But unfortunately, many people are pushed into debt while pursuing a degree they’ll never use or care about. They end up much further behind than they would’ve been had they just started working. We’re made to believe that “piece of paper” is a silver bullet, guaranteeing BMWs and lakefront property. But to get a job, companies are often more concerned with what you can do for them, rather than solely what degree you have.
So without a formal institution, how can you enrich yourself and improve your skills? It’s simple, you educate yourself independently. Moreover, you do it for free online. Here are a few ways:
Duolingo - Learn a language. So far, for English speakers, they offer French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian. As you learn, you’re tasked with translating pieces of websites. So as you learn, you’re translating the internet. Not only is it free, but it’s super high quality. According to one study, it’s more effective than Rosetta Stone or University Classes.
Codecademy - Coding is one of those things that people assume only the smartest of the smart can learn. However, it’s one of those things that more and more is becoming absolutely essential for people to know. After you learn it, you’ll feel like Neo in the Matrix, but you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to pick up.
Udacity - This site doesn’t focus on one topic. They allow you to choose what you would like to learn. Most of their courses are centered around math, science, and computers, but they have a very good selection. The business model they use is pretty interesting also. They let you take the classes for free, but give you the option to get the certification with it if you want to pay and take a test.
Coursera - Want to take classes at Stanford or Georgia Tech but don’t have the resources, GPA, or desire to step foot in a classroom? Then check out Cousera. They offer courses from top universities for free. Of course you’re not going to get a degree, but how cool would it be to tell your friends you’re taking a course in computational photography from Georgia Tech?
MIT OpenCourseWare - Through this site, MIT openly offers all of their course materials. They were the ones who inspired other institutions to do the same. The classes include syllabi, videos, course notes, and anything else you might need to actually learn a subject.
The Khan Academy - Their homepage declares you can “Learn almost anything for free.” Unlike the institutional sites, Khan Academy is interactive. So you can learn and get feedback as you go along. It also helps you figure out which specific areas you’re having trouble with by keeping track of your progress.
Wikiversity – A project hosted the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikiveristy seeks to gather and disseminate education and research materials. Of course everyone is familiar with Wikipedia, another one of their projects. Some are familiar with Wikibooks, which was established to build a database of free textbooks. Speaking of which…
Free Books Online – There are a few other sites out there which put textbooks online for free. For example, check out Textbook Revolution and Internet Archive. The latter not only having books but all sorts of free media.
Here’s your homework for this week: learn. Pick whichever of these sites most interest you and expand your horizons. If you know any more sites, please let me and everyone else know. Open education does no good if you keep it all to yourself.
