Learn Something New with Coursera

An online learning tool, Coursera allows users to expand their knowledge by taking real college courses on their own time for no cost. Universities who have partnered with Coursera to offer these free courses include institutions of all types and reputation, from Princeton and Yale to universities and business schools in more than 23 different countries. There are even some non-university partners who offer courses, such as the American Museum of Natural History and the National Geographic Society.

The courses often run for six to eight weeks, with assignments and quizzes for each section of the course, followed by grades and feedback from the instructor. Some start and end on particular dates, but others allow users to begin the course whenever they like and work through it at their own speed. Course categories range from life and social sciences to economics and the humanities. Some of the individual courses beginning in June and July include Introduction to Financial Accounting, Introduction to Marketing, Social Psychology and English Composition. If you’d rather choose an on-demand course that allows you to learn at your own pace, your choice of subjects is extremely varied — Calculus I, Introduction to Public Speaking and Chinese For Beginners are each available immediately. All of the course materials are included on your course’s home page, whether it’s a link to an article in an academic journal, a video of a lecture or a PDF file of reading assignments.

Pass the class, and you can often choose to receive a verified certificate or a specialization certificate, which Coursera encourages you to add to your resume and LinkedIn to show you have knowledge in a specific desirable area. The verified certificate comes from the university and acknowledges your completion of the course and a passing grade. A specialization certificate is received after you’ve earned a verified certificate for a certain number of courses and a capstone project intended to expand your expertise in the designated subject area further.

Allowing users to determine if a certain subject is right for them before pursuing it further financially, while also offering quality instruction and academic materials, Coursera is a great option for those who want to learn a new skill or subject, or those who simply love to learn.