Just a short post today to get the word out about some new learning sites I have come upon. I have started a few courses with little to no cost, and I now find that I'm happier overall with life in general. Education is a lifelong process for me and I'm glad to be away from any feelings of stagnation.
Coursera
Cost: FREE
I was first turned on to this site while watching a TED talk by its co-founder, Daphne Koller. http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_koller_what_we_re_learning_from_online_education.html
(TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a starting point for anyone interested in learning about the latest ideas and innovations across myriad fields and subject matter.)
Khan Academy
Cost: FREE
I haven't tried this yet, but you can get an idea of what it's like from this video.
Rosetta Stone
Cost: Around $35/month for the online courses.
Rosetta Stone is probably the most well-known and acclaimed provider of computer-based courses on language. In addition to the CD-ROM course packages, they also offer the courses online by subscription through a site called TOTALe. A few months back, I decided to try a beginner's course in Italian through TOTALe and found it to be a both fun and effective way of learning a new language. There are interactive tutoring groups with native speakers as well as engaging games to help you brush up on the material learned. In the end, I did not renew my subscription since I could no longer afford it and I had some problems with the TOTALe site. For instance, I'm not sure why there were separate logins for the Rosetta Stone site and the TOTALe site. This caused me some confusion and resulted in my getting locked out of the site on several occasions. Also, I'm not sure that they offer the 3-month and 6-month subscriptions any longer, so you may have to commit to a full year. Nevertheless, it is, overall, a quality product.
Babbel
Cost: $12.95/ month
At a only a fraction of the cost, Babbel uses similar technology and methodologies to Rosetta Stone, which include voice recognition plug-ins to help with pronunciation and the interactive exercises that use inference and visual aids to guide you through the learning process. Unlike Rosetta Stone, however, Babbel utilizes your native language in the teaching process instead of relying solely on pictures and logic. I am sure that there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, which I am likely to uncover as I get further into the course material. Whether you opt for the courses on this site or the more expensive (and perhaps more thorough/natural) Rosetta Stone courses, there is no reason why anyone with access to the internet should pay $300+ to drive to a college campus to take a language course a few times per week.
