MIT offers courses for free on the Web

Linda Rosencrance   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Computerworld Stories  

The Secure Web Gateway. Mission Critical For Business Get a Grip on Storage Growth and Reduce Costs What's Next? Real Answers for Tough Times Instant download of E-Book Virtualization for Dummies. Beyond consolidation: five reasons why you should start virtualizing Enterprise Findability Without the Complexity Computerworld Report- Large Enterprises Pay More for IPAM An Apple for Your Enterprise? Six Questions To Ask About Information And Competition Sign up to receive Default Resource Alerts

October 11, 2002 (Computerworld) -- While MIT's OpenCourseWare (OCW) project isn't quite a free education, it is a new approach to the open sharing of knowledge over the Internet.
Launched two weeks ago, anyone with an Internet connection and a Web browser can access the syllabus, assignments, exams and answers, reference materials and, in some cases, video lectures of MIT courses.
First announced in 2001, the idea behind OCW is to make course materials used in almost all of MIT's undergraduate and graduate subjects available online, free of charge, to users anywhere in the world, according to Jon Paul Potts, spokesman for the OCW project.
Potts said the goal of the project is to advance technology-enhanced education at MIT and to serve as a model for university dissemination of knowledge in the Internet age.
However, Potts said, MIT isn't putting its current semester course offerings online; rather, it is putting up course offerings from previous terms.
There are 32 MIT courses in 17 disciplines available on the Web, including Introduction to Experimental Biology, Problems of Philosophy, Linear Algebra and Macroeconomics Theory II.
Potts said MIT plans to put most of the materials from its 2,000 courses online by the 2006-07 academic year.
He said OCW will allow faculty from other institutions and other people to observe teaching methods and resources used by MIT's faculty. "This is not distance learning," Potts said. "The goal is to provide the content that supports an education."
Since the site went live, more than 130,000 users from around the world, including Africa, Algeria, Canada, Finland and Latvia, have accessed the site, and 1,700 of them have sent e-mails offering comments about the site, Potts said.
Currently, individual course sites and the course materials for the pilot phase of OCW use HTML. The course sites are static Web pages, he said, but they use a number of additional formats, including PDF files, Java Applets and video files.
Potts said OCW is still working on the technology infrastructure and studying other potential platforms to determine what the project will use in the long term. He said OCW is intended to be built using a full-featured content management and publication production system.
The initial phase of the project, which cost $11 million, was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

Obama's choice for DHS could flame tech visa battle BlackBerry Storm sales should be strong, Verizon says 10 great Bluetooth gadgets More top stories...

Microsoft to launch IE8 in '09; RC due out in Q1 Review: BlackBerry's Storm is awkward and disappointing Google shutters its Lively virtual world

2008 Salary Survey: IT pay takes tiny leaps If you're like our 7,000 survey respondents, your paycheck this year has been flattened and your bonus obliterated. We offer 12 ways to plump up your paycheck. Windows 7 in-depth review and video: This time Microsoft gets it right Microsoft's next OS might more accurately be called Windows 6.5: It's essentially a better version of Vista. Twitter for business: 5 ways to tap the power of the tweet Twitter can be a valuable business tool -- if you know what you're doing. Here's how to juice it for all it's worth. Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' changes outraged HP, insider e-mails show By helping Intel with loosened 'Vista Capable' requirements, Microsoft 'severely damaged' its credibility, said an HP exec in a newly unsealed Feb. 2006 e-mail. Windows 7 Get the latest news, reviews and more about Microsoft's newest desktop operating system More Continuing Coverage Windows 7 Voting Technology Google's Chrome browser Economy in turmoil: Latest news and tips iPhone 3G Bill Gates moves on Windows Vista A to Z Mac A to Z 2008 Salary Survey Find wage data for 50 IT job titles. More Special Reports 2008 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2008 Best Places to Work in IT 2007 Best Places to Work in IT 2008 Salary Survey 2007 Salary Survey 2006 Salary Survey 2008 IT Forecast 2007 IT Forecast 40 Years of Computerworld Top 12 Green-IT Users The FAQs About Going Green IT Schools to Watch iPhone: One Year Later Global Mobile Your Next Data Center Management: Reinventing IT Stop Data Leaks Web 2.0 Security Surviving Disasters Managing Storage Virtualization The Lean Storage Machine Storage on Trial Can Web 2.0 Save BI? Bypass These BI Potholes All Zones Business Continuity Zone The File Data Management Zone Security Management Zone The SAS Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone The Enterprise Search Zone Software as a Service Zone The Security Zone See your link here

Turning information into a Competitive Advantage Turning information into a Competitive Advantage View this webcast now! Go to the webcast  Solving Real World Storage Problems Download this whitepaper now. As your storage needs grow, the cost of managing it need not spiral out of control.Our vision - Universal Distributed Storage - is about: mainstreaming high endstorage functionality solutions built on industrystandard hardware a broad partner ecosystem Our next generation of Server and NAS products - Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 - will help you further reduce your storage costs. Download this executive briefing  Transforming Disaster Recovery - VMware Infrastructure for rapid, reliable and cost-effective Disaster Recovery Download this white paper today! (Source: VMware) VMware Infrastructure transforms disaster recovery by providing you fast, reliable and cost-effective disaster recovery. Why suffer from the slow, expensive and unreliable problems associated with traditional disaster recovery solution? VMware makes disaster recovery affordable through consolidation savings and re-use of existing servers for your disaster recovery site. Experience the speed of virtualization! Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. 2008 Internet Malware Trends Report Security Trends Overview: Targeted Phishing Attack Enterprise Findability Without the Complexity View more whitepapers

• Obama's choice for DHS could flame tech visa battle
• Microsoft to launch IE8 in '09; RC due out in Q1
• BlackBerry Storm sales should be strong, Verizon says
• More top stories 

• Thanks to gamers, the desktop supercomputer arrives

• Microsoft feared Mac vs. Vista comparison in '05, insider e-mails show

• New Firefox app lets users pimp their browsers

Read more news 

• IO issues with novice users

• It's doing something now...

Read more Shark Bait 

Security Directions: Strategies and Tactics for Protecting Your Enterprise in 2009 Attend the Security Directions virtual event, with sessions available live on December 16, 2008 and available on-demand from December 17 though March 17, 2009. Some topics that will be covered include: Best Practices around Data Leak Prevention (DLP). What exactly is security due diligence and why does it matter? Cloud security and privacy. End-point security - rising gas prices have caused an increase in the number of remote workers, which leads to more security issues. Register now for this event that happens on December 16, 2008, but will also available on-demand from December 17 - March 17, 2009. Register Now!

Five Ways ERP Can Help You Implement Lean Getting in operational shape or becoming lean has been a primary goal of many companies over the last few years. Why is Lean so popular? Because it delivers what is truly needed in today's highly competitive world: shorter lead times, improved quality, reduced cost, increased profit, improved productivity, and enhanced customer service. Download this white paper now!