The Covid-19 pandemic has forced learning institutions to shift their courses to online mediums, but students aren’t the only ones taking classes during this time.
Having to stay at home means there is now more time to learn skills or brush up on old ones, and there is no shortage of interesting and free courses you can take online.
Massive open online courses, better known as MOOCs, are connecting and equipping interested people with the resources and learning materials to learn new skills or advance their education in a flexible and affordable way.
Among the many learning institutions offering courses are the prestigious Ivy League universities in the United States, which include Harvard, Columbia and Princeton universities.
There are more than 400 free courses for those interested in making the most of their free time. Check out the list below to find an online course to occupy your free time in a productive way.
edX is a massive open online course host which offers university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to an online, worldwide student body. The course prices range from no-charge to charge. edX offers courses from a variety of institutions including the prestigious Ivy League universities such as Columbia, Cornell and Princeton.
Harvard University offers a variety of open learning opportunities, including online courses and modules in a range of disciplines, from programming to religion to architecture.
Open Yale Course provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at the prestigious Yale University.
Coursera is a digital learning platform that offers massive open online courses, specialisations and degrees from Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan. Many of the courses on Coursera are free to audit, and Coursera is offering a limited-time offer to earn certificates for 85 courses for free until May 2020.
Google: Digital Skills for Africa
The Google Digital Skills for Africa is a free, foundational digital marketing initiative developed by Google to train Africans around the continent to grow their business, their career and their confidence.
The distinguished multinational technology company, IBM, is offering free online training courses to those interested in developing their foundational soft skills as well as technical training that will be sure to improve their productivity and capabilities.
My Mooc is a platform that puts more than 10,000 free online courses at the touch of your fingertips. The several thousand learning contents are aggregated to include courses on professional and personal development, the sciences and the arts from institutions such as The University of California and TEDx Program.
FutureLearn is the brainchild of The Open University, a public research institute and university in the United Kingdom, which hosts a variety of open learning courses from UK-based institutes such as Cambridge University and the King’s College London. FutureLearn hosts courses in fields ranging from creative media and arts, languages and mental health.
