Courses

Social Science The VAP social science program was designed to make a significant contribution to debates about the capacity of information technology (IT) to facilitate deliberative democracy. In particular, we hoped to learn which psychological and social processes will come to bear most forcefully in online civic discussion, and what may happen when the expanded use of and improvements in IT give the general public access to quality political information and make possible high telepresence discussion among large numbers of people. The research program proposed to look at two sets of consequences of central importance to understanding the effects of online political discussion: community effects and decision quality effects. Examples of questions relevant to the former are: Will IT-infused politics be viewed as more community-minded and principled?

Guide to Free, Quality Higher Education Culture Digital Tools Teaching Strategies By Katrina Schwartz As the current generation of college graduates wrangles with an unprecedented amount of debt, a sea change is underway in higher education. More and more elite universities are offering free online courses that might characterize the next iteration of the college experience for the forthcoming generation of students. Will students be able to receive the equivalent of a bachelors degree for free? How will brick-and-mortar institutions be used in the future? 825 Free Online Courses from Top Universities Advertisment Take online courses from the world’s top universities for free. Below, you will find 1,700 free online courses from universities like Stanford, Yale, MIT, Harvard, Oxford and more. You can use this collection of online courses to learn everything you want–from history, philosophy and literature, to physics, biology, psychology, and computer science. Our site also features collections of Online Certificate Programs and Online Degree & Mini-Degree Programs.

LitReactor LitReactor offers a unique approach to a writing education: You study what you want, when you want, at your own pace. We bring in veteran authors and industry professionals to host classes covering a wide range of topics in an online environment that’s interactive and flexible. You get detailed feedback on your work and take part in discussions in a judgement-free zone.

Stanford Online Stanford University pursues the science of learning. Online learners are important participants in that pursuit. The information we gather from your engagement with our instructional offerings makes it possible for faculty, researchers, designers and engineers to continuously improve their work and, in that process, build learning science. By registering as an online learner, you are also participating in research intended to enhance Stanford's instructional offerings as well as the quality of learning and related sciences worldwide. A Brief History of Open Data Data is currently in the spotlight, be it open data or big data. It is important to consider these two types separately, even if they share a common object: data. Big data focuses primarily on the possibilities offered by exploiting a volume of data in exponential growth. Whereas with open data, the creation of value depends on the ability to share data, to make it available to third parties, rather than on sheer volume. Open data responds to a set of technical, economic and legal criteria: it must be freely available online, under a format that allows re-use. The term open data appeared for the first time in 1995, in a document from an American scientific agency.

Pivotal Moments - Minerva Schools Minerva was established to improve upon every aspect of the university experience: the liberal arts and sciences curriculum is intentionally designed to prepare you for future success, through active learning of adaptable skills, not rote memorization; your classes are all small seminars, in which you interact directly with your professors; and instead of staying on a sheltered campus, you will live with your classmates in seven different world cities during your four years of study. An Education That Matters If you are passionate, deeply curious, and aspire to be a global citizen, you will find Minerva a welcome change from traditional educational systems. Join some of the most curious, driven and promising students in the world, as you gain the skills and experience that employers want and society needs. Exclusive Opportunity for Transfer StudentsTransferring from another school is a big decision, with many factors including financial concerns.

9 Great Online Libraries for Educators Libraries are significant resources for written text and educational materials. It is true that the surge in blogs, search engines, ebooks catalogues, and document sharing communities has tremendously weakened the online presence of libraries but still often times libraries provide a treasure trove of information and rare documents that you can hardly find elsewhere. As educators, we should at least know about two or three library resources where to look for and find precious documentations. We should also introduce our students to such links and encourage them to use them in their research.Hence the importance of compiling a list of some of the best libraries online. Check out the list below and hopefully share it with your colleagues.