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Microsoft, Alphabet help you learn quantum computer programming
The very concept of a quantum computer can be daunting, let alone programming it, but Microsoft thinks it can offer a helping hand. It and Alphabet's X are partnering with Brilliant on an online curriculum for quantum computing. The course starts with basic concepts and gradually introduces you to Microsoft's Q# language, teaching you how to write 'simple' quantum algorithms before moving on to truly complicated scenarios. You can handle everything on the web (including quantum circuit puzzles), and there's a simulator to verify that you're on the right track.
Free online courses will teach anyone DNA sequencing
It's never been easier to learn how to code using online resources, and that's not limited to computer programming. You know what else is code? DNA, which scientists have been modifying in bacteria and embryos with increasing success over the years. Researchers from the Centre Recherches Interdisciplinaires in Paris, France have launched Synthetic Biology One, a website offering free courses to teach anyone how to change genetic code.
Online learning improves when you feel like you belong
Completing online courses can be daunting, but that's particularly true if you're in a developing part of the world. It's too easy to feel like you don't belong. Researchers may have a solution, though: giving you activities that help you fit in. An MIT and Stanford study has shown that brief psychological "interventions" can dramatically increase the completion rates for online courses in less developed regions. One of these boosts involved reading testimonials from earlier students who overcame that lack of belonging, while another involved writing a short explanation of how the course reflects and serves their values.
Oxford University will offer free online courses in 2017
The highest ranked university in the world will soon join prestigious institutions like Berkeley, Harvard and MIT in offering free massive open online courses (MOOCs). Starting in February 2017, Oxford University will partner with nonprofit online learning platform edX to teach a freely available economics class titled, "From Poverty to Prosperity: Understanding Economic Development."
Masterclass offers online lessons with the super famous
If you wanted, say, acting lessons from Dustin Hoffman, you'd probably have to write a check that's bigger than the Empire State Building to make it happen. That's why Masterclass has such an appealing idea, a video-based tutorial site where, unlike those videos on YouTube, the teachers are the best in their field. In addition to acting classes taken by Hoffman, users can opt for tennis coaching from Serena Williams or photography lessons from Annie Leibovitz.
Microsoft teams up with edX to offer free online IT classes
EdX is no stranger to teaming up with tech organizations to offer online courses, and previous partners include the Linux Foundation and even Google. Now, it's Microsoft's turn to join forces with the online learning platform. The company says its courses will help you "build innovative applications, services and experiences on the Microsoft platform" and will be taught by MS experts. There are seven choices open for enrollment at the moment, from basic intro to Office 365 APIs to classes that teach programming with C# and the fundamentals of Windows PowerShell. The best thing about them is that they're free (unless you want a verified certificate for job apps), so they're a great way to spend your downtime if you've always wanted to learn about those topics.
EdX expands range of institutions that can offer free online courses
EdX's open online education system has drawn a lot of interest -- enough interest that the non-profit has just loosened up its membership structure to allow for more participants. The revamp lets 12 additional organizations offer free internet-based courses, including schools as well as non-academic outlets like the International Monetary Fund, the Linux Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. Details of the new programs aren't available beyond the Linux Foundation's plans for an introductory Linux course, but edX's move is bound to improve the diversity of things you can learn without spending a dime on tuition. [Image credit: TU Delft, Flickr]
Coursera's iOS app expands the reach of online education
Coursera is one of the largest US providers of free education through MOOCs (massive open online courses). One month ago, the company announced its collaboration with the State Department to develop educational hubs around the world, where students could participate in MOOCs as a group. Now, the educational initiative has taken its mobility one step further with an iOS app. Students can take advantage of hundreds of courses on the go thanks to features like a personal dashboard, syllabus access and quizzes. Lecture videos are available to stream on your iPhone, with an option to download for offline viewing later on. In the interest of data-efficiency, the app was designed with simplicity in mind and isn't yet capable of replacing Coursera.org. New features and platforms, however, are promised for 2014.
Coursera teams up with State Department on series of MOOC-based 'learning hubs' around the world
Coursera is already one of the leading providers of MOOCs (or massive open online courses) in the US, and its now getting a helping hand from none other than the US government in broadening its worldwide ambitions. The company announced a new initiative today that will see it partner with the State Department and a number of other organizations on a series of "learning hubs" around the world, where students will be able to go and access the internet and participate in MOOCs as a group. Those classes won't be quite as "massive" as your usual MOOC, however. According the The New York Times, the classes will all be small ones -- some with as few as 15 students -- and they'll be supplemented by weekly in-person sessions with a local instructor for what Coursera's Lila Ibrahim describes as a "blended learning experience." For its part, the State Department says that it hopes the courses will not only help students where they are, but "help connect them to U.S. higher education institutions" as well.
Google teams up with edX to create the YouTube for online education
Google's big list of open source projects just grew by one -- the company has introduced a new online learning platform called MOOC.org. Despite the name, it's not a website about cows -- MOOC stands for "massive open online courses," and it's a product of the marriage between Mountain View and edX, an educational website by MIT and Harvard. However, while edX only features free courses from affiliated universities, MOOC.org will accept material submitted by other institutions, governments, businesses and even individuals. In short, just about anyone can pitch in -- edX's president even revealed that they want the site to eventually become the "YouTube for MOOCs." The companies have yet to reveal how they'll screen submitted courses for quality and how contributors can earn money, but we'll likely find out when the site launches in mid-2014. Self-motivated folks eager to learn will have to hang out around libraries, campuses and TED talks until then. [Image credit: University of Salford, Flickr]
