About MIT Online Learning

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a system of online learning called MIT OpenCourseWare. MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication offered online. MIT has created course materials for all courses, both undergraduate and graduate levels, offered at MIT and has offered them to the general public for free. Video and online demonstrations are also available. In addition, MIT has created Highlights for High School that offers AP review courses, sample college courses, and also science demonstrations available for teachers. As of 2009, over 56 million people have benefited from MIT's OpenCourseWare.

History

MIT first proposed OpenCourseWare in the year 2000 when the faculty explored how they could use the Internet to expand knowledge to the general public. In 2002, OpenCourseWare (OCW) published class materials for 50 pilot courses. MIT offered 500 courses and Chinese translations with their official launch in 2003. In 2004, MIT secured a Creative Commons license, publishing over 900 courses. In addition, MIT began to mentor other universities in creating their own OpenCourseWare in 2004. By 2006, OCW earned several awards and formed the OpenCourseWare Consortium, a group of more than 200 institutions offering OpenCourseWare. In November of 2007, the entire MIT course catalog was published in OCW. Highlights for High School was also added in 2007, offering high school students a taste of college and offering teachers materials for the classroom. As of 2009, 1890 courses are published. Video, audio and demonstrations are being offered on YouTube and iTunesU. The courses are also translated into Chinese, Persian, Thai, Spanish and Portuguese.

What Is MIT OpenCourseWare?

MIT OpenCourseWare offers online publications, coursework, videos and demonstrations for the entire MIT course catalog for free, online use. However, OCW does not provide you access to the faculty or does not grant degrees or certificates. In addition, OCW does not guarantee that the course materials are complete. OCW is for your own use, review and continued learning. It offers the opportunity to explore topics and information at higher levels of expertise.

Courses

All MIT courses are offered in OpenCourseWare. These courses range from Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering to Psycholinguistics to Atmospheric and Oceanographic Modeling to Robotics. Typically, the materials for each course include the syllabus, calendar, essential readings, lecture notes, exams and assignments. In addition, some courses include video and audio lectures or demonstrations. These materials can be viewed online or can be downloaded to your computer. You have the ability to work at your own pace.

Highlights for High School

Highlights for High School offers OpenCourseWare that would be most beneficial to both high school students and teachers. It offers review materials for AP Biology, AP Calculus and AP Physics. Highlights for High School also offers courses such as Practical Electronics, Technical Writing and Solving Complex Problems as examples of college courses for students. Teachers have access to online demonstrations provided by MIT professors and additional homework problems and examples of exams. Students and teachers also have access to labs and competitions through Highlights for High School.

Cost and Donations

MIT OpenCourseWare is free to the general public. However, each course usually takes about $10,000 to $30,000 to create (as of 2009). The cost for creating the courses is due to licensing, translation, video/audio components and formatting costs for distribution. MIT relies on donations of corporations and individuals to offer this resource to the general public. For more information, please visit the OCW website (see References).

References

• MIT OpenCourseWare