Feb 11
22
The Top Three IT Universities That Offer Open Courseware
Open courseware is making huge waves in the higher education sea. Many IT universities have already made the leap into this realm, with stunning results. From learning about electrical engineering to computer science, pretty much anything is possible.
The concept is simple; make education accessible and free to any and every one. Certain courses are available in a variety of different ways – through videos of lectures, class notes and syllabus’, and audio podcasts. While this movement is still trying to break through a few other barriers to keep it accessible, the amount of free courses already available is staggering. The IT universities below have strong IT programs and offer some of the biggest selections of open courseware.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT is the forerunner in open courseware selection. Their innovative approach has consistently placed the school at the top of open courseware lists. They have the widest IT selections for computer science amongst all the colleges. Some course examples are: Practical Programming in C and Introduction to C Memory Management and C++ Object-Oriented Programming.
View MIT’s open courseware selection.
University of California, Berkley (UC Berkley)
Right behind MIT is UC Berkley in open courseware offerings. They are quickly adding to their course selections and have already added plenty of IT and computer programming courses. These are generally in webcast forms, either in video or audio podcasts.
View UC Berkley’s open courseware selection.
Utah State University
Utah State is quickly catching up as well. They offer courses that range from anthropology to wildland resources. However, their broadest selection is Electrical and Computer Engineering, with seven popular classes. You can learn all about different computer-related subjects, from Error Control Coding, Communication Systems, to Flash.
View Utah State University’s open courseware selection.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the schools that offer open courseware, but it is a great place to start. Before you go and “attend” one of these classes, remember that the purpose of open courseware is to provide free access to education and to take down barriers to higher education. Listening to a class or downloading lecture notes will not confer a degree. Open courseware seeks to impart knowledge in a way that will revolutionize the higher education playing field. These three IT universities may be the top contenders for quality and selection, but since the purpose of open courseware is to inspire discussion, challenge knowledge and provide free access, you can bet that other universities are going to catch up quickly.
