This summer, I decided to spend some of my spare evenings (while stuck in rainy Scotland) studying for a couple of these courses - hoping to get a bit of a headstart on my studies next year as well as discover more about subjects I find interesting but am unable to fit into my degree.
First up, I had to pick a course. There are a wide range of websites offering MOOCs, some of which include:
This is by no means a complete list though! Each course provider offers different courses and different certificating strategies. As a brief summary:
Alison.com offers free stand-alone courses at a range of levels (although I would generally say AS/A Level or first year degree) in a huge variety of subjects - including several STEM subjects (athough generally broader courses rather than specialist ones). These courses can be taken any time at the learner's pace. Pdf certificates are free but not offered by many courses (including all the science-y ones) - and it is not clear on their website how much a paper certificate would cost.
Allversity offers a variety of 'crash courses' as well as a few longer courses - these appear to be aimed at GCSE/AS/A Level students or those with no prior knowledge of a subject. There don't appear to be any certificates available. As with Alison.com, the courses are available all the time and can be taken at any pace.
Coursera is one of the more well-established MOOC providers, with links to many top universities worldwide. They offer a wide variety of courses including many specialised STEM courses) in many languages. Courses are generally 6-10 weeks long and have set dates, and seem to be slightly more intensive than some alternatives (for example, around 5-10 hours per week). They appear to be at a slightly higher level - perhaps A level/ degree level standard (of course this varies significantly between courses). There is the option to take courses one their own, or some as part of a 'specialisation' - a group of courses on a particular topic along with a project. There is the option to either gain a free 'certificate of accomplishment' for completing a course, or pay for a 'verified certificate' ($49, certain courses only).
edX has many similarities to Coursera, including it's links to top universities; variety of fairly intense, specialised courses at a fairly high level; and choice of certificate options. The certificates offered include free 'honor code' certificates (all courses) and 'verified certificates' (~$25, certain courses only). Their equivalent of Coursera's specialisations is the 'XSeries' of courses. I particularly like the ability to change the video speed and download summary sheets. One major disadvantage is the requirement to take weekly tests which cannot be done after the deadline - making it harder to go at your own pace. Also, their discussion forum is not particularly easy to use and doesn't link into individual lectures.
FutureLearn offers a range of different STEM courses and has a particularly easy to use discussion function alongside each lecture, enabling easy communication with other learners or the educators themselves. The courses seem to require a sightly lower weekly time commitment than some other MOOCs, and tend to run from 2 to 10 weeks. As with Coursera and edX, they start and end on a particular date. However, there is a lot more flexibility in pacing the course, since each 'week' can be taken in advance or after the suggested time (this may vary between courses though). The main disadvantage is the need to pay for 'statements of participation' (currently 24 pounds + postage).
Saylor Academy offers stand-alone courses which can be taken as 'pathways' - equivalent to a whole degree course for some subjects, with free certificates of completion or the option to take an official exam to gain US college credit. However, they didn't offer many science modules at a high level.
I searched through and managed to find several courses which looked interesting. Just to get me started, I enrolled upon 'Medicines Adherence' from King's College London, a course offered by FutureLearn. I figured that this was a good one to start with since it was only two weeks long. I quickly got the hang of online learning - most of the teaching is done by short videos, accompanied by notes. They also prompt you to join in with discussions with other learners and read articles, as well as complete short quizzes. I decided not to purchase a certificate for this course, since it isn't particularly relevant to my future studies/ career.
Having had a nice introduction to MOOCs, I decided it was time to tackle one of the more interesting courses - but there were so many to choose from! I ended up picking three:
- The Science of Medicines, Monash University (FutureLearn)
- Inside Cancer, University of Bath (FutureLearn)
- BIOC372.1x Fundamentals of Immunology, Part 1, Rice University (edX)
I am really enjoying these courses so far. They tend to explain things very well with plenty of detail and examples. The ability to work through the lectures at your own pace, re-wind, view transcripts, etc. makes it a much easier way of learning that university lectures - although of course there is less individual support (although on FutureLearn the educators have been making comments on people's discussion posts and giving weekly video feedback, which has been very helpful).
In general, I would say that an online MOOC is a great way to learn more about a subject - and would also be good to demonstrate your commitment to further study on your UCAS application. They do require you to put in a bit of effort and motivate yourself, but can be very enjoyable. Particularly common STEM subjects available including computing, biology and physics courses - although other subjects can also be found.
