Distance learning has become much simpler with the number of MOOCs being offered on the internet. MOOCs refer to Massive Online Open Courses. These are taught by renown professors from some of the best colleges and universities around the world. While some of these courses help students get credits from a particular college should they wish to pay for them, the majority of the courses can be studied for free.
How a MOOC works
There are two ways in which the courses may be run. These are synchronous learning and asynchronous learning. In the first case the MOOC will have a defined starting and ending date. All students will e-learn together and assignments will have well defined deadlines. It gives a sense of community and a whole lot of discussion takes place in the forums.
In the asynchronous learning pattern, the MOOC will have a fixed number of modules to be completed by the student at his own pace. It offers more flexibility and does not require the student to interact with other students online. Both patterns work well with homeschool students and MOOCs offer them a chance to learn a lot more in the comfort of their homeschool classroom.
Where can the Homeschool Student enroll in a MOOC
There are a number of popular websites such as Coursera, EdX, Udemy, and Udacity which offer MOOCs. They have courses on a variety of different subjects offering opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Start out with the subject your homeschool student is interested in and filter out the courses to find the right fit.
You can sort the courses by language, levels of expertise involving beginners, intermediate and expert, as well as the different universities that offer the courses. A simple browse through will give you and your child a great idea about what all is on offer. Then open up a free account on the site that has the course that you wish to attend and register for the course.
Enjoy learning something new, in a somewhat new manner. It will be an experience that you will like to repeat.
