How to get a World Class Education
Introduction
If you have an internet connection and the drive you can literally get a world class education for free! I'm not talking about at tax payers expense free but actually free. There are so many sites out there that will allow you to learn any and everything you would ever want to learn. You can get an education from primary school all the way up to graduate level education at top universities. It is absolutely amazing what you have access to. The only reason to go to an actual university now is for a piece of paper and agreed upon recognition of a degree.
I started out as a Math teacher but become quickly frustrated with the education system. I believe in education and think everyone should have a right to learn whatever and whenever they would like. I periodically check in on the education system and see what is out there. I have compiled a list where you can go to get a world renowned education all with just internet access. You do need the drive to pursue this education and push through at tough times though.
Primary School
First up is Duck, Duck Moose and Khan Academy. The two companies just teamed up to provide interactive, comprehensive education for young children. I first came across Khan Academy when I was still teaching. I saw Sal's Ted Talk and saw such promise in his views. I would let every student I came across know about the website. On there they have videos for all ages, even primary aged school children. Sal explains stuff very well and also incorporated gaming rewards where students can earn points and badges to keep them motivated. Duck duck moose makes learning interactive and fun as well for young children. The two companies together provide an amazing opportunity for any child to have a great foundation for there education.
Secondary School
Continuing on after primary school, you come across more advanced topics. Khan academy tackles these as well in there learning and education. You can get any class you would need for free with videos on every single topic. Also, there are materials on there to help prepare for college entrance exams. Now teaching towards a test is not the intention of the site, or the philosophy behind the creation of it. You can see that in Sal's latest Ted Talk but having those resources freely available is amazing. Especially considering people pay hundreds of dollars to prepare for such exams in other settings.
Undergraduate Education
I know there is political talk to give the United States 'Free College' but there is a way already out there. The start begins again with Khan academy. He has material on that site for the first few years of an undergraduate education. You can get great introduction and knowledge base in math and sciences and other areas. You would find a lot of that in general education credits at a university. Once you get past what Khan academy has to offer, you are not stuck yet. The first place I would draw your attention is MIT open courseware Did you know that MIT has made openly available material from over 2000 courses they offer. You can literally find almost any course offered at MIT on there. They are working on making that almost go away and make all courses available. From there you can get some similar general education courses but also any other course that is popular. You can finish off your undergraduate education with pretty much and college major you find any interest in. If MIT isn't your cup of tea, then there is another option is Coursera. Top university from all over have made full courses available on here in all subject areas. You can pretty much view any of them for free, there is also options to pay for them and get a certificate of completion from them. The hardest part of all this is figuring out what courses to take and what will go together. You have some guide but there is so many options you could get lost!
Graduate Education
Believe it or not you can even get graduate level education through these sites too! You can almost get to a level of a PhD if you are driven enough. Between Open Courseware from MIT or Coursera you can take advanced courses in any topic you want to dive deeper into. It is absolutely astounding the level of education that is out there. Besides traditional classroom courses you can also take more professional development type courses. Learn how to coordinate better, manage and interact in profession settings. You can learn new software and ideas all by taking the initiative in seeing whats out there!
No matter what your level of education is or what age you are, you can find a way to learn whatever it is that you want or need to. These are just a few options that give a more traditional education approach to an online setting. We live in a time where learning is possibly from wherever and whenever you want. On top of all the typical and traditional courses offered, you can also find stuff on the jobs of the future. Things like computer science, data science, and many other data and tech related disciplines. All of these are free to you as well and I am going to write another post focusing on the education specific to future facing type jobs. One quote my 6th grade teaching always said, that stuck with me, "Don't let school stand in the way of your education!"
Thanks for reading!