Online Courses / Distance Learning / MOOCs

[mariagarcia]

Hi I'm looking to update my skills prior to returning to work. It's been suggested that I look at distance learning and something called moocs.

I've heard of the Open University but I'm put off by the cost so I'm wondering what people's experience with 'free' providers have been - particularly in the UK?

Various reputable UK universities have come up in searchs - UDOL (Derby), EssexOnline and HertfordshireOnline.

Please share your experiences.

The OU do free courses online - it's called openlearn their general site is here specific questions about openlearn courses is here I'm not sure of the subject you want to look at but there are a lot of courses there. One of the courses I paid to do with the OU many years ago is now on openlearn for free.

I'm not too sure about the others you have mentioned, sorry.

Hi there,
If you're really looking to update your skills (compared to getting a certificate to show to prospective employers), the programs of different MOOC providers are great. You can take courses on basically any topic from the best universities and other institutions around the world. Check out Coursera (.org), edX (.org) and FutureLearn (.com, initiated and owned by the OU UK).
You can take courses on these platforms for free, universities include many in the UK, but also Stanford, University of Michigan, MIT, Harvard, HEC Paris, and many, many more.
However, it's not yet a given that employers understand the value of these courses. Some do already, but most don't fully understand the power of MOOCs yet. So be sure to balance it with your career perspective.
If you are willing and able to pay small amounts, you could consider taking one of the spezialisations or 'Xseries', which end with a capstone project, giving you the opportunity to provide proof of what you've learned and to show how you can turn theory into practice.
Another option would be to consider Udacity, where they have special job-skills focused programs. However, it's mainly technical.
Another interesting thing to take note of, is the No-Pay MBA. There are some useful things on that site (note: I'm a member of the class of 2017 there).