Topics: All (Business, Sciences, Philosophy, Economics, Engineering, History, Law, Humanities, etc.)
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Video, Text, Powerpoint, Interactive exercises, Problem Sets
Type of Content: Educational
EdX is a collection of free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's). If you've never heard of them, MOOC's are courses (normally college courses) that anyone, anywhere can take as long as they have access to the internet. Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative is another example of them. However, there are a few key differences. One is that edX currently offers a total of 50 courses from13 different schools. If a course has already finished running, many still allow you to look through the lectures and notes. Most courses will give you a certificate of mastery upon completion. Overall, these are more like taking a real college course, just online.
I am currently signed up for a class on quantum mechanics from The University of California, Berkeley. It runs for 10 weeks. 8 of those weeks are classes, one is a midterm, and one is a final. Every Saturday the material for the next week is released. This is two video lectures (though each is broken up into smaller segments), a copy of the course notes, and a set of homework problems. If you want credit for the homework, it has to be completed by the next Sunday. You can audit any course and simply watch the videos and read the notes, but if you want a certificate, you need to get at least a certain grade. In my course this is an 80%.
There are several other helpful features. The discussion forum is really helpful if you don't understand something. There are also TA's who occasionally post hints or other useful information. In other courses, there can be interactive labs. For example, some chemistry courses have a molecule editor which allows you to "create" molecules in order to answer questions, or just get a feel for how things work.
So far, I really love this site. If you want to learn a new subject, this is definitely a good place to check out. Not all of the courses are entry level though. Each will state its prerequisites on its main page. For example, my course requires knowledge of linear algebra to complete. But it is still worthwhile to check around, even if you don't have anything in particular you want to learn. You map find something that surprises you.
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Video, Text, Powerpoint, Interactive exercises, Problem Sets
Type of Content: Educational
EdX is a collection of free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's). If you've never heard of them, MOOC's are courses (normally college courses) that anyone, anywhere can take as long as they have access to the internet. Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative is another example of them. However, there are a few key differences. One is that edX currently offers a total of 50 courses from13 different schools. If a course has already finished running, many still allow you to look through the lectures and notes. Most courses will give you a certificate of mastery upon completion. Overall, these are more like taking a real college course, just online.
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| A screenshot from my Quantum Mechanics class |
There are several other helpful features. The discussion forum is really helpful if you don't understand something. There are also TA's who occasionally post hints or other useful information. In other courses, there can be interactive labs. For example, some chemistry courses have a molecule editor which allows you to "create" molecules in order to answer questions, or just get a feel for how things work.
So far, I really love this site. If you want to learn a new subject, this is definitely a good place to check out. Not all of the courses are entry level though. Each will state its prerequisites on its main page. For example, my course requires knowledge of linear algebra to complete. But it is still worthwhile to check around, even if you don't have anything in particular you want to learn. You map find something that surprises you.
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