Free Online Learning Classes for Kids and Adolescents
Courses for K-12 and older students
Today’s blog installment covers the popular topic of “courses
and other learning resources for kids and parents”.
For those of you who have expressed frustration with finding
good quality free online classes for your kids, I can completely
empathize. It is not easy to find these
courses. The web seems to be currently
filled with people trying to make money from people who need to find classes for
their kids. For example, one website
looked great and even said that the classes were free. I got in, made an account, etc. and then
found out that the only thing that was free about the classes was their
catalogue. Some of the courses were
outright expensive.
In order to put together this list, I relied on my own
experience with several MOOC platforms and teamed that up with various reviews
of MOOCs that were provided by reputable sources. The intent was not to make an extensive list
of all possible sources. Rather, it
provides a small number of “best bet” platforms for parents to explore. Chances are if you look at these platforms
you will find something that is useful and not get caught up in the same web of
false hopes and spam email that I encountered. Yes, I am now getting spammed due to those “accounts”
I set up to look at free lists of expensive classes. Hopefully I can spare you that
headache.
The Khan Academy has been recognized as a go-to source for
free preschool and k-12 independent online learning classes. Compared with other online learning platforms,
some of Khan’s courses appear less flashy and a little drier. In reviews of Khan Academy, both teachers and
parents rate this platform high in terms of quality of content and the fact
that kids learn from the lessons.
Note that Khan Academy does ask for donations but the
courses are free.
This is a well-regarded source of free independent and home
learning courses offered by the Open University. While the content is generally intended for
older adolescents and adults, many courses are suitable for about grade 7 and
up.
The benefits of these courses include that they are free and
offer certificates of completion.
FutureLearn is a British-based private company. From their website:
We’re a private company jointly owned by The Open University and
The SEEK Group. The Open University have 50 years of experience in distance
learning and online education.
We have hundreds of partners from around the world. These
include many of the best UK and international universities, as well as
institutions with a huge archive of cultural and educational material, such as
the British Council, the British Library, the British Museum, and the National
Film and Television School.
Much of the content is intended for adults. However, some of the topics may be of
interest to those aged 10-19.
Note that most of the courses offer a free option. There are also options at 2 other price
points. The first price point offers a
certificate for completing the course and ongoing access to the content once
the course is completed. The second
option includes the features found in the first plus longer term access to
course content, supplementary content and value-added feature. In looking through the course offerings, I
could find no evidence of a course that lacked the free option. It
seems fair enough to say that these are free classes.
The courses on Saylor.org are free courses which also
typically provide certificates to those who complete the courses. From the website:
Saylor Academy is an organizational member of Open Education
Global, a non-profit, global network supporting the advancement of open
education. Find out more at http://www.oeconsortium.org
While these classes are likely not suitable for all but the
most exceptional of elementary-level students, they are great introductions to basic
undergraduate-type courses for older high school students.
While the courses on this platform are not generally intended
for k-12 audiences, much of the content is intended for those who teach or
provide services for children and adolescents.
Parents may find many of these courses interesting.
While courses listed as “free and self-paced” may be the
best suited to the current situation, many of the courses that have beginning
and end dates can be picked up at any point during the course. The difficulty with courses that have a set
beginning and end date is that you will have less time to complete the course.
https://www.canvas.net/
Great list Donna!
ReplyDeleteSaskatoon Public Library has various social media programs and events that are suitable for kids and families. See: https://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/online-programs
ReplyDelete