MOOCs Explained: My access to First World Education from a third world 2mbps Home.

The internet has changed the way we do things yet the Philippine Educational system is so left behind compared to our booming neighbors like Singapore, Korea and Japan. We just integrated to K12 a few years ago and sadly it seems that when the Americans left more than 60 years, our educational systems haven't changed that much. Our textbooks just get thicker and thicker and more programs/ courses are added. 

So in my desire to self study as I prepare for local Law School Exams, I tried deviating from the usual enlisting into a Review Class/ answering Practice Tests (I still am doing them) and instead enlisted myself in different MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses offered by different Top Universities in the World.

It's a different approach to self studying, it's a dynamic way of learning too. It's like learning in a classroom except you can rewind, pause or forward your instructor if you want to get to a particular topic. There is class interaction (peer to peer review, chatrooms etc.) and frequent testing and small quizzes. And the best thing? Most courses can be paced accordingly to your schedule. Most of them are free too!

Top Providers of MOOCs: (Courses as of 7/18/2015)

1. Coursera (1,059 Courses)

2. edX (589 Courses)

3. Canvas.net (272 Courses)

4. FutureLearn (174 Courses)

5. Udacity (95 Courses)

(Source: List of 51 providers offering MOOCs/ Online Courses | Class Central )

Plus most of them have mobile applications! I've downloaded the Apps from the sites I signed up so I I can study while in bed, on your commute, in the train, in the toilet, wherever, whenever!

The thing about MOOCs is that most of them are free, but you need to purchase a certificate if you want one. Most Courses are priced around $49 to $39 ( around Php 2,156 to Php 1,719 which I think is the Price per unit in most Colleges so it's relatively cheap to get certification).

If you are considering taking MOOCs seriously and is looking for full courses or MBAs, you might want to check individual College/ Universities. I know Stanford and MIT offer, but they will require a fee and you really need to buy course books only available in the US. But it will still be cheaper than taking it in the US (sans the Culture, prestige of being inside one, but I think for Filipinos who value learning but can only afford as much, this is something worth trying).