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IvyWise in the News


Open to learning

Web site offers free access to course materials from MIT, Harvard, more
May 4, 2010


They say the best things in life are free - a philosophy embraced by OpenCourseWare, a boon for lifelong learners and education enthusiasts. For zero dollars, access to Ivy League college courses is a click of the mouse away.

OpenCourseWare is a free publication of course materials from undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at area colleges. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University are two local schools offering free access to content taught by their professors. While students can't earn college credit toward a degree, experts and professors agree free educational content is invaluable.

MIT professor Gilbert Strang, who teaches linear algebra, one of MIT's most popular courses available on OpenCourseWare, said he gets e-mail messages from all over the world, thanking him and MIT for the opportunity to peek into his classroom.

"One reason people really like (courses in this format) is because it's not too formal," he said. Learners can go at their own pace.

Many interested in his course tend to be people who need to brush up on their linear algebra skills.

"It's an important subject and people find out it's important in different times in their work or on a job," he said.

According to Stephen Carson, MIT's external relations director for OpenCourseWare, the program began in 2001.

"MIT was trying to figure out what to do about the way the Internet was changing education," he said. "(MIT was) charged by the president of the school . . . who wanted MIT to do something about distance learning."

Carson said the majority of the users are independent of higher education systems. YouTube has also linked into OpenCourseWare, organizing educational content through YouTube EDU.

"It's been an amazing project," Carson said. "It kicked off other schools joining us."

Strang said he will soon have a calculus course online, which he thinks can be beneficial for high school students enrolled in a calculus class. In fact, he said it's a great opportunity for high school students to experience what a college course is like before starting college.

Dr. Katherine Cohen, CEO and founder of IvyWise, an educational consulting company, said one of the great things about OpenCourseWare and other sites that give the public access to real university courses is that "students get a taste of what college is like and the depth and breadth of the subjects they will be studying."

Cohen suggests students planning to begin college this fall take some time over the summer to check out the courses to see what they are interested in, particularly if they are undecided on a major. It might be a useful way to check out the different professors to see "who you want to study with and what you want to learn."

"I think today with technology, online communities and the online academic availability to courses and professors, you can really come into college prepared to be there," Cohen said.


"Kids, as you know, are on the Web all the time so they find these courses," Strang said. "The ones who are a little interested in math discover that these (courses) are available for them and are kind of understandable."

Cohen even suggests students use these free courses as a way to brush up on a college's core requirement, such as math, that they may have struggled with during high school.


"It's terrific to be teaching in a way that the whole world can access," Strang added.




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