Featured Online Resource: Coursera

Are you looking to learn something new this summer?  Are you interested in taking a class with several thousand other people on a topic like Cryptography?  You can if you utilize this week’s Featured Online Resource, Coursera.  Coursera offers free online classes from some of the top universities in the United States, like Princeton University, Stanford University, and the University of California Berkeley.  The courses cover subject such as humanities, social science, mathematics, and computer science.  The courses are taught by instructors who currently teach at these top universities. 

The courses offered, are not credit-bearing classes, but if you are interested in learning more about a subject, this is the perfect option.  You will attend class online with thousands of other students who are interested in the same subject as you.  It offers you the opportunity to interact with others from around the world.

Examples of some of the classes being offered and the institution the instructor is from:

• Roman Architecture (Yale University)
• A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) 
• General Game Playing (Stanford University) 
• Engaging Students through Cooperative Learning (John Hopkins University)

      Here is a list of some articles about Coursera:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/technology/coursera-plans-to-announce-university-partners-for-online-classes.html 
• http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/coursera-the-new-face-of-higher-education-video/4894 
• http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/net-us-usa-college-online-idUSBRE83H0PC20120418

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.