OpenCourseWare Guide
OpenCourseWare is a term coined in the end of 20th century after the publishing of video lectures online by the University of Tubingen in Germany.
An OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a system which offers high quality college and university level educational materials (like e-books, audio book, videos, presentations, etc.) for free. It is available as an open digital publication, licensed and accessible by everyone via the internet. Users who wish to learn from home or who find it difficult to attend university classes can choose to study under the OCW system.
In this guide we have listed out few universities which offer courses under the OCW system. However, users should understand that courses offered through OCW may not be awarded with a degree or certificate.
Table of Contents
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials. It offers almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. The are several departments in which the courses are available. Courses by department :
- Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Anthropology
- Architecture
- Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation
- Biology
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences
- Chemistry
- Comparative Media Studies
- Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
- Economics
- Engineering
- Foreign Languages and Literature
- Gender Studies
- Health Sciences and Technology
- History
- Linguistics and Philosophy
- Literature
- Mathematics
- Media Arts and Sciences
- Music and Theater Arts
- Physics
- Political Science
- Science, Technology and Society
- Sloan School of Management
- Special Programs
- Urban Studies and Planning
- Writing and Humanistic Studies
URL:http://ocw.mit.edu/ Back to top
The Kaplan University
The Kaplan university OpenCourseWare site gives you open access to the materials used in different Kaplan university courses. Courses available are in the various departments of :
- Arts and Sciences
- Business
- Criminal Justice
- General Education
- Information Systems and technology
- Legal Studies
- Nursing
URL:http://ocw.kaplan.edu/ Back to top
Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative
Carnegie Mellon University offers various online courses and materials through a program called Open Learning Initiative (OLI). Courses offered are :
- Biochemistry
- Casual and Statistical Reasoning
- Chemistry
- Computational Discrete Mathematics
- Economics
- Empirical Research Methods
- Engineering Statics
- French
- Logic and Proofs
- Modern Biology
- Physics
- Statistics
- Visual Communication Design
URL:http://www.cmu.edu/oli/ Back to top
TUDelft University of Technology
TUDelft offers courses on Bachelor level and Master level. It also offers educational materials for secondary education in the language of Dutch. Some of the course lectures are also available in iTunes University or the iTunes U. The following is a list of courses offered that is in a generalized manner :
- Biomedical Engineering
- Engineering and Policy analysis
- Information Skills
- Marine Technology
- Mathematics
- Media and Knowledge Engineering
- Microelectronics
- Nanoscience
- Offshore Engineering
- Product Design
- Sustainable Development
- Transportation and Planning
- Water Management
URL:http://ocw.tudelft.nl/ Back to top
Tufts University
Tufts University offers educational materials that are very educative and have a strong representation of the respective course. The university mainly offers subjects based on life sciences with an international perspective. Some of the courses offered are :
- Agricultural Science
- Basic Human Pathology
- Biology of Water and Health
- Blender 3D Design
- Environmental analysis
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Genetics
- Histology
- Human Growth and Development
- Human-Animal Relationships
- Implant Dentistry
- Intellectual Development
- Introduction to Modern Physics
- Law
- Medicine
- Producing Films for Social Change
URL:http://ocw.tufts.edu/ Back to top
Utah State University
The Utah State University offers high quality online courses with great educational materials. It provides free and open access to the knowledge and expertise of the university’s faculty to benefit every person in the world. Courses offered are :
- Anthropology
- Biological and Irrigation Engineering
- Biology
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Economics
- Education
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- English
- Family, Consumer and Family Development
- History
- Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences
- Languages, Philosophy and Speech Communication
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Physics
- Psychology
- Theatre Arts
- University Extension
- University Studies
- Wild-land Resources
URL:http://ocw.usu.edu/ Back to top
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Kutztown University offers courses that can be useful resources from an entrepreneur’s point of view. The courses mainly deal with business studies that can help young business magnets. Courses offered are :
- Accounting
- Business Operations and Management
- Business Planning
- Government
- Finance
- International Business
- Legal
- Management Development
- Marketing
- Sales
- Small Business Tax
- Starting and growing a business
URL:http://www.kutztownsbdc.org/course_listing.asp Back to top
University of Southern Queensland
University of Southern Queensland (USQ) offers courses that are learner focussed which provides flexible learning. The content provided is valuable and meant for both learners and educators. Courses offered are :
- Communication, Technology and Policy
- Creating Interactive Multimedia
- Exploring Teaching and Learning in Tertiary Contexts
- General Science
- Introduction to Tourism
- Technology and Society
- Object Oriented Programming in C++
- Studying to Succeed : Planning your career
- Studying to Succeed : Planning your study program day by day
- Teaching Students with Special needs : Behaviour Management
URL:http://ocw.usq.edu.au/ Back to top
University of California – Irvine
University of California (UCI) – Irvine offers courses that are directed at working adults seeking continuing education, with the option to enroll in instructor led, for-credit courses, related to the OCW content. The website provides students and self learners around the globe with access to UCI faculty created undergraduate and graduate courses. Courses offered are :
- Capital Markets (NIRI)
- E-Marketing
- Fundamentals of Business Analysis
- Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning
- Introduction to Project Management
- Spa and Hospitality Operations
- The Coming China Wars : Where They will be Fought, How They can be Won
- Training and Human Resource Development
URL:http://ocw.uci.edu/ Back to top
Audio and Video OpenCourseWare
There are websites that specialize in offering courses in the form of Audio and Video. Generally, courses with audio and video tutorials tend to benefit learners quickly and efficiently. The following is a list of such websites
The University of Oxford on iTunes U
The University of Oxford probably offers the largest number of courses for free via iTunes Store. It has had over 3 million downloads from the iTunes U website. The site features teaching materials, lectures, etc. The courses offered can be viewed in the website as the number is quite extraordinary and the list prodigious.
URL : http://itunes.ox.ac.uk/Back to top
Stanford on iTunes (SoIT)
Stanford on iTunes U offers broad range of university related digital audio content via the iTunes Store. The site includes Stanford courses, lectures, events, music, sports, etc. Some of the categories in which the courses are offered :
- Arts and Humanities
- Business
- Health and Medicine
- International Relations
- Science and Technology
URL:http://itunes.stanford.edu/ Back to top
Yale University – Open Yale courses
Open Yale courses gives free and open access to a selection of courses offered at the Yale University. The courses are available in text, audio and video formats. Departments in which the courses are offered :
- Astronomy
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Classics
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Economics
- English
- History
- History of Art
- Italian Language and Literature
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
- Music
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Religious Studies
URL:http://oyc.yale.edu/ Back to top
UC Berkeley
It offers courses in the form of Podcasts and Webcasts. There are several courses offered and the subjects are diverse in nature. All the materials are of high quality making it easier for the learner. The material provides a good foundation and knowledge of the subjects. The courses offered are :
- American Studies
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Development Studies
- Economics
- Electrical Engineering
- English
- Geography
- History
- Japanese
- Letters and Science
- Mathematics
- Molecular and Cell Biology
- Nutritional Science
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Statistics
URL:http://webcast.berkeley.edu/ Back to top
Courses are also available in iTunes University or the iTunes U.
Other Audio and Video Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology – http://mitworld.mit.edu/
The University of Nottingham – http://unow.nottingham.ac.uk/
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) – http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence – http://free.ed.gov/
The National Science Digital Library (NSDL)- http://nsdl.org/
Learners TV – http://www.learnerstv.com/index.php
OpenCourseWare for Mathematics
There are two good free online course websites for mathematics. They are :
Khan Academy – http://www.khanacademy.org/
BrightStorm – http://www.brightstorm.com/
The above sites contain video library to explain the concepts in mathematics. Although the sites provide science video lectures also, they have a greater resource for mathematics. The video lectures are from the best teachers and they are so good that they just give people a great feeling of learning.
OpenCourseWare Search Engines
You can search for any open course you want with the following websites :
OCW Finder – http://www.opencontent.org/ocwfinder/
OER Commons – http://www.oercommons.org/
OpenCourseWare Forum
You can find, share and discuss the courses and the educational resources with the help of the following website:
Jorum – http://www.jorum.ac.uk/
