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Free Online Classes for the Masses
MOOCs are created by universities trade groups and companies and available on sites like edX and Coursera
GETTY IMAGES Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. MOOCs were initially offered by universities that wanted to openly share their courses with a mass audience. Now, more than nine hundred universities — including prestigious institutions such as Harvard and MIT — produce these courses, according to Class Central. Nonprofits, trade groups and companies such as Google and Microsoft have created MOOCs as well. MOOCs are ideal for knowledge-seeking older Americans, says Laurie Pickard, partnership lead at Class Central. These courses enable workers to that could fit in with their existing jobs, as well as explore potential avenues for second careers. At the same time, hobbyists can get in-depth information on a wide array of areas such as writing, art and design. Adult education and online learning is not new (and neither are MOOCs, which started to really gain traction in 2012), but now with high-speed internet available almost everywhere, distance learning is exploding. “It's like the opportunity that you can get if you live in a college town,” Pickard says. “If you're a retiree, a lot of times you can audit classes and sit in the classroom with the people who are taking those courses for credit. (With MOOCs) there's an opportunity to be in university-caliber courses and just satisfy a love of learning on really any topic imaginable." Continued learning
Pat Bowden, 61, discovered MOOCs in 2012 after retiring from her job as a member relationship adviser with a credit union. She's since taken more than 100 courses, including Stanford University's Computer Science 101, University of Pittsburgh's Nutrition and Physical Activity for Health, the California Institute of Technology's The Science of the Solar System and the University of Tasmania's Preventing Dementia. She created the website OnlineLearningSuccess.org to educate others about internet-based education and does some part-time work for Class Central. Bowden didn't expect her online dabbling to lead to so many new opportunities. . "I was looking for something to do in retirement and it built from there,” she says. She's gained a wide array of skills — including those from a course on how to reason and argue — which was taken “much to my husband's amusement,” she says. Wide variety of options
Most MOOCs aren't distributed by the content producers or universities. They are instead available via online learning platforms such as and . Coursera has more than 3,200 available courses and edX has roughly 2,400. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Course time can vary. Individual MOOCs could take one week or 16 weeks, according to Class Central. Most are in the four- to-six-week range. In the early days of MOOCs, they were mainly free and taken at once by large groups — hence the terms “open” and “massive” in their moniker. But they've evolved. While it's typically still free to view the video lectures, certain elements – such as getting access to quizzes and having assignments graded — can be behind a paywall. Also, for an extra fee, some providers offer credentialing, such as or even a full degree. MOOCs can run on set schedules, but many can be done at your own pace. "You can do it from wherever you are in the world at whatever time you like,” Bowden says. “If you are an early riser, you can get up and watch videos, or you can do it in the middle of the night." AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe , which is available through Coursera. "I loved it,” says Bowden. “And a lot of people love it. More than two million people around the world have enrolled." More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS