For most people, studying in a reputed international institution is a dream difficult to realise. Whatever the reasons be - lack of financial support, family problems or failure to secure a seat in the coveted Ivy League colleges, this dream remains unfulfilled throughout their lives.
While foreign education has remained an ‘exclusive’ privilege of a chosen few till now, rapid technological developments are finally erasing these barriers. To get an international degree, complete with latest developments and the cutting edge technologies, all you need is a high speed internet connection.
Realising the latent demand for their courses, universities from across the world are coming together to provide online courses, dubbed as ‘Massively Open Online Courses’ (MOOC).
While online conferences and internet education are not a new phenomena, what is new about MOOC is that a candidate will have to enrol into a virtual classroom and complete all its rigours.
And what is more, by spending about four to five hours a week, students can also obtain a certificate from the university that is offering the course.
Students will also get a new interactive ‘online’ classroom experience by signing up for a virtual class. They can watch online videos, complete assignments and interact with the lecturers and other students in the classroom during the class timings.
“These courses have come as a boon for people like me,” a government employee, T.J.R. Sait, said. “Because of the financial problems and lack of opportunities, I could not pursue higher education earlier. But with these online courses, now I can attend classes conducted by reputed lecturers right from home,” he said. Passionate about studying history, 58-year old Mr. Sait, enrolled in a History course at one of the MOOC sites, Coursera.
The popular MOOC platforms currently available are Coursera, Udacity, edX and Academic Financial Trading Platform (AFTP). While some courses are being offered for free, you have to shell out a nominal fee for others. Most courses are so designed that they can be pursued by people who do not have any prior background in the subject.
‘Popular MOOC platforms currently available are Coursera, Udacity, edX and Academic Financial Trading Platform’