@thesunflowersqueen / thesunflowersqueen.tumblr.com
“Afghan women with internet access will now be able to access over 1,200 free courses on the FutureLearn platform from the best of British higher education, for the duration of the Taliban’s ban on female higher education.” Please share widely.
With NASA announcing their streaming service NASA+ and also announcing it’s going to be free and also ad free, I’d just like to appreciate the lengths they go to make scientific knowledge and exploration as available as they possibly can.
There's more info at this link. Gosh I'm excited about this.
Started a new month-long Coursera MOOC today, about Virtual Teaching, to keep me on my toes and learning before (hopefully) taking the CELTA later this year. Looking forward to learning more about online teaching!
I started the FREE The Together Teacher online MOOC today. ^_^ Got to keep myself learning and growing! ... My goal is to finish it by the end of June and get a distinction!
Aint I a woman: Black women and black feminism
We real cool black men and masculinity
Feminism is for everybody
Black sexual politics
Black feminist thought
When and where I enter
Too heavy a load black women in defense of themselves
Guys guide to feminism
The End of manhood
The Black Woman: An Anthology
Sisters in the struggle
Living for the revolution Black Feminist Organizations
Autobiography as activism Three Black Women of the 60s
The Womanist Reader
*Squeal*
Take free online classes from 115+ top universities and educational organizations. We partner with schools like Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and others to offer courses in dozens of topics, from computer science to teaching and beyond. Whether you are pursuing a passion or looking to advance your career, Coursera provides open, free education for everyone.
Just finished the final peer & self evaluations in the Coursera Metaliteracy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)! Sad to finish, but excited to apply ideas to my life!
DOAJ is an online directory that indexes and provides access to quality open access, peer-reviewed journals. Encouraging quality and Best Practice in peer reviewed open access research!
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND LIFELONG LEARNERS: Did you know that The Directory of Open Access Journals exists?!?
Creative Commons licenses provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists, and educators.
16/02/2015: I'm learning about Copyright, Open Access, and the Creative Commons in my Coursera Metaliteracy Course today.
08/02/2015: It's so strange studying again, but I'm on the ball with my Metaliteracy Coursera Certification! First time I've completed an assignment with six days to spare!
Free books: 100 legal sites to download literature
The Classics
Browse works by Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad and other famous authors here.
Textbooks
If you don’t absolutely need to pay for your textbooks, save yourself a few hundred dollars by reviewing these sites.
Math and Science
Turn to this list to find books about math, science, engineering and technology.
Children’s Books
Even children’s books are now available online. Find illustrated books, chapter books and more.
Philosophy and Religion
For books about philosophy and religion, check out these websites.
Plays
From Shakespeare to George Bernard Shaw to more contemporary playwrights, visit these sites.
Modern Fiction, Fantasy and Romance
These websites boast collections of graphic novels, romance novels, fantasy books and more.
Foreign Language
For books in a foreign language like French, Spanish and even Romanian, look here.
History and Culture
Refresh your memory of world history, the classics and U.S. history here.
Rare Books
Look for rare books online here.
Arts and Entertainment
This list features books about celebrities, movies, fashion and more.
Mystery
Here you can find mystery books from Sherlock Holmes to more contemporary authors.
Poetry
These poetry sites have works by Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe and others.
Miscellaneous
For even more free book sites, check out this list.
for future reference
Reblogging in case I ever want to download books legally…
always posting this when I see it
Personally, I don’t read e-books unless I can’t get them any other way, but if some of my followers do, this is for you!
Such sentence building, very english, much wow.
Online Video Lectures
Interactive & Personalized Courses
Free Textbooks
Flashcard Learning
Language Learning
Knowledge should be free. And with these wonderful online resources, it can be just that. This master post is a dedicated link to free online education and learning resources. Everyone deserves to learn, and we at Gigabits want to help you do that. If you would like to contribute any more links to this post or would like to add personal resources to the list, please leave us a message or submission with a link to the resources/educational website and a detailed explanation of what it is, and how it helps to further the freedom of knowledge.
Take free online classes from 115+ top universities and educational organizations. We partner with schools like Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and others to offer courses in dozens of topics, from computer science to teaching and beyond. Whether you are pursuing a passion or looking to advance your career, Coursera provides open, free education for everyone.
Started my first Coursera course today! "Metaliteracy: Empowering Yourself in a Connected World!" I'm excited for my first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)! ^_^
In the last installment of Coursera for Your Career, “Find the Best Course for Your Professional Development and Advancement”, we walked you through the process of navigating Coursera’s course catalog to find a course that fit your professional goals. In this post, we focus on how to set yourself up for success when taking your chosen course.
Once you choose the right course to develop the job skills you need, it’s time to focus on how to maximize your course efforts into influencing your career advancement.
First, have a conversation with your boss about the course. Talk to him or her about Coursera, why you’re taking the course, its key features, and what you hope to gain from it. Describe how you choose the course, exactly what you will learn (via the posted syllabus), and how it will position you for professional advancement (e.g., a promotion, raise, or lateral move). Explain how the course ties into your professional development short and long-term plans, and how it will ultimately benefit your company.
Second, earn your Verified Certificate. By earning your Verified Certificate, you will earn a university-branded, identity-verified certificate when you complete the course. Fees for a Verified Certificate are usually $50 USD or less, but ask your employer if they will reimburse you for it (FYI - many top companies, like Mastercard, currently reimburse their employees for Verified Certificates!) Verified Certificates add credibility to accomplishments, and will strengthen and validate your motives.
Third, if possible, create a project that ties together or represents material learned. Projects are tangible artifacts to add to your portfolio, signaling what you learned and showing off your new skills. Make the projects relevant and practical to demonstrate the impact of the course, and your newly acquired competences, to your manager.
Fourth, recruit colleagues to be involved in the course as well. Recommend the course to people you work with, and if they join you, start a support team to keep yourself and each other accountable. Balancing deadlines and lectures with work responsibilities isn’t easy, but having co-workers alongside you will encourage you to finish assignments on time. Or, use your co-workers as a resource, asking them for guidance when you have questions on certain topics or areas (you might find a new mentor out of the experience!)
Follow these tips to make the most out of your Coursera experience for your professional development!
Take free online classes from 115+ top universities and educational organizations. We partner with schools like Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and others to offer courses in dozens of topics, from computer science to teaching and beyond. Whether you are pursuing a passion or looking to advance your career, Coursera provides open, free education for everyone.
I enrolled in this free online coursera.org course "Metaliteracy: Empowering Yourself in a Connected World" today! Very excited!
Looking forward to learning stuff, it has been too long!
Studies show that 71% of the US labor force is actively seeking or open to new a job, over 65% of American workers switch jobs every 1-5 years, and of those that stay, almost all employees want a promotion or raise. Taking a Coursera course is not only a way to learn a new skill; it’s also a great way to show that you’re self-motivated, knowledgeable, and intellectually curious. To properly showcase these characteristics, it’s essential to find exactly the right course to signal your aptitude and abilities to employers–for now and for the future.
With more than 700 courses offered across 25+ categories, the options seem endless, and making a choice can be tough. Choosing the right course specifically for professional development can be even more challenging not only because of the sheer number of options, but also because of the distinct nature of individual courses.
If professional development is your aim, when faced with this choice, it’s helpful to think about courses through the lenses of professional goals and skills.
Lens 1: Your Goals
Understanding and clarifying your career goals will help you in the decision-making process. Ask yourself: How do you want advance your career?
If you’re looking for a career change… consider joining a Specialization, which is an extended, focused program that will leave you well-prepared to seek out a new job. If you are seeking a promotion or a raise… find a course that builds on your existing abilities, or a course that introduces you to a new field altogether. With your new competencies, you’ll be much better equipped to seek out that promotion or raise. If you are preparing for a job interview… look for courses that allow you to refresh your knowledge of relevant subject areas and give you a good grip on technical details that may come up in questions. If you are running or starting your own business… consider courses that will help you develop new core competencies, as an entrepreneur must be talented in many different areas.
When browsing through the Course Catalog, answer these questions as they relate to your goals:
Might this course help position me to change careers? Will this course reinforce the knowledge I have for my current job? Might this course lead to a promotion or a step up the ladder? If in an interview, will I be asked questions related to this topic? If running your own business, will it add to or complement what you need for growing your firm?
When the answer is yes and aligns with your end-goal, then you have probably found the right course for you (though there might be many, so let’s narrow in more!)
Lens 2: Skills You Need
Now that you’ve narrowed in on your professional goal, think about the skills to obtain or develop to attain the goal. If you know what eventual end result you want in your career, you can properly hone in on the courses that will teach you the skills you need. We host top-tier courses from the world’s best universities and educational institutions–many of which can help you reach your professional goals. Focus on skills that shows employers that you are ready for new challenges and responsibilities in the field.
If you are looking to develop….
Business acumen: finance, accounting and economics, operations, etc. Technical expertise: programming, data science, information security, etc. Leadership skills: entrepreneurship, strategic thinking, etc. Teaching skills: Common Core, K-12, etc. Language proficiency: writing skills, reading, etc. Legal expertise: legal philosophy, constitutional concepts, etc.
…and beyond, Coursera is your ultimate learning resource.
It’s not only about identifying the course that will teach you the right skills; it’s also about making sure you can show employers easily and convincingly that you have those skills. When you are investigating courses, check if the course offers a Verified Certificates, or if it is part of a Specialization.
Verified Certificates are official, trusted certificates of accomplishments that, via facial and typing pattern recognition, prove YOU took the course (and not only that your email address took the course.) Specializations, a sequence of 3 - 8 curated courses, prove expertise because you gain a unique depth of topic knowledge. Specializations culminate in a Capstone Project, a practical and industry-relevant project, that is a demonstrable indicator of your knowledge.
Employers value these certificates because it proves and signals acumen. During the course, see if you can create or add to your professional portfolio, as well (including completed assignments, Capstone Projects, etc.) So before clicking the “Join for Free” button, consider if this course will tangibly show employers and colleagues you’ve learned the topic by earning a Verified Certificate.
Once you understand what your professional goals are, as well as the skills you want to cultivate, you’re on the right track to finding a course that fits your needs.
What lessons or skills learned on Coursera helped you in your career? We want to hear from you, and allow other Courserians to learn from your experience! Share your story with us! It’s never too late to learn! Join a course now »
