The internet has brought about a revolution in learning. It is now possible for a person to login and get an education for free online. The fact that online learning does not require classrooms and other overheads to operate effectively means that it is possible for such education to be offered for free. The fact that this education is offered online means that there are also some people who offer low quality course that would not be worth the time of a student.
Owing to its nature, it is difficult for the internet to be effectively policed. Some of the courses, however are offered by reputable institutions. These free online courses do not provide academic credits but they give skills. The best bet for a good technical education online if for the student to be informed. The following are some of the sources of good quality technology courses online.
i. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This premium technology school keeps a collection of archived courses that were once offered in its main school. They include courses such as IT Essentials, Practical IT management, Computer Systems engineering and many others.
ii. University of California Berkeley
Its online section offers a course on software development. Lecture videos are available online for free.
iii. Harvard University
Harvard offers free online courses. The courses include development of source code, computer network security, JavaScript and other languages such as HTTP and HTML.
iv. ALISON
This is an education initiative that puts online technology courses in one site. This allows users to have easy access. Some of the courses under this initiative include network security and cloud computing.
v. University of California at Davis
This university provides education particularly on Linux and Unix. The courses include C programming and Unix management.
vi. Carnegie Mellon University
This university offers a large array of courses online for free. Among these are technology courses. They include principles of computing.
vii. University of Michigan
The intention of this initiative is to help students and faculty share research. Courses are also available via iTunesU. It offers introduction to information studies for free.
viii. Georgia Institute of Technology
It offers computer networking for free online. These courses include Computer Networking and advanced operating systems. The computer networking course deals with questions such as data center networking and distribution of content in a network. Advanced operating systems, on the other hand explores a deeper understanding of the popular operating systems.
ix. Microsoft Academy
This is a virtual school by Microsoft. It offers training on advanced techniques for handling online topics. These include web design with python. It also offers training on advanced JavaScript.
x. The Open University
This university offers many different courses for free. In technology, it offers training in the basics of computing and Information Technology. It mainly covers basic day to day activities such as making purchases online, ending emails etc. It also focuses on advanced skills such as mobile programming and large scale programming such as for big servers.
Conclusion
In the changing market place, the emphasis for work is moving more towards skills than certificates. A person who attains a free education online is still likely to earn a decent living. The amount they make is dependent on the quality of work they deliver. Freelancing and outsourcing have further expanded these opportunities.
