MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses

Have you ever thought about studying abroad, joining a course offered by a prestigious university like Harvard, MIT or Yale (just to mention a few from a really long list) but you feel too busy or too old, or simply you cannot afford it? Well, here is the answer to your problem. The latest trend in education is called MOOC. Education is just a click away!

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an online course aiming at large-scale participation and open access via the web.  In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for the students, professors, and teaching assistants. MOOCs are a recent development in distance education and often use open educational resources. 

Are you looking for a massive open online course? In this case you should have a look at the following addresses.

https://www.coursera.org/

https://www.edx.org/
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/upcoming

https://www.udacity.com/

http://www.mooc-list.com/

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/50-top-sources-of-free-elearning-courses/

Note, however, that Udacity differs from Coursera and edX in that it does not have a calendar-based schedule (asynchronous); students may start a course at any time. While some MOOCs such as Coursera or edX present lectures online, typical to those of traditional classrooms, others such as Udacity offer interactive lessons with activities, quizzes and exercises interspersed between short videos and talks.

All these organisations profess to provide world-class education to everyone, everywhere. And from my own personal experience, being an edX/Harvard student, I admit that it is worth every minute (in my case long hours) spent on it, since it is an excellent way to learn. Of course, as everything else, MOOCs have come in for a lot of criticism as well. If you feel sceptical about joining one of the courses, perhaps you could have a look at the following article from the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/opinion/sunday/grading-the-mooc-university.html?pagewanted=all

Or maybe you could benefit from Jonathan Haber’s experiment and experience of MOOC world.

http://degreeoffreedom.org/

Whatever your opinion, such courses are an excellent way to practice your language skills and communicate with people all around the world, within an academic context. What do you think? Would you give it a try?

Please, let us know about your own experience as a MOOC student.

The Phrasal Verbs Machine

The Phrasal Verbs Machine A FREE app for phrasal verbs practice Install on iPod, iPad or Android This new app helps students to discover the fun in learning phrasal verbs and improving their knowledge of English. Each verb is explained and illustrated in a memorable context, with plenty of practice. Translation in five languages will be helpful to learners with low level of English. Try it today! Check out other Cambridge apps here.

Wishing you a great summer!!!

As our English courses have been brought to a close, I feel that it is the right moment to thank you all for your participation in this trip to knowledge. For us, the teachers, it has been a worthwile experience and we are looking forward to meeting you in September.

Wishing you a beautiful and relaxing summer, we are sending our farewell along with the words of C. Cavafy.

Ithaca

As you set out for Ithaca
hope that your journey is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not be afraid of them:
you ‘ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare
sensation touches your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you will not encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope that your journey is a long one.
May there be many Summer mornings
when with what pleasure, what joy -
you come into a harbour seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations,
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
as many sensuous perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn again from those who know.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry in the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so that you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.
Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca wouldn’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then,
what all these Ithacas mean. 

Constantine P. Cavafy

And here is a link to YouTube where Son Connery recites “Ithaca”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk

Enjoy!