“We are a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. We envision a future where the top universities are educating not only thousands of students, but millions.”
I quote these lines directly from Coursera website, that assembles a very worth effort by most American famous universities, such as Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Michigan, and so on. In brief, Coursera offers free quality courses on a wide range of subjects taught by leading teachers. It is even possible to get a final certificate.
Classes offered on Coursera are designed to help people master the material. When we the student take one class, we will watch lectures taught by world-class professors, learn at our own pace, test your knowledge, and reinforce concepts through interactive exercises. When we join one of Coursera classes, we’ll also join a global community of thousands of students learning elsewhere. Courses are designed based on sound pedagogical foundations, to help the student master new concepts quickly and effectively. Key ideas include mastery learning, to make sure that we have multiple attempts to demonstrate our new knowledge; using interactivity, to ensure student engagement and to assist long-term retention; and providing frequent feedback, so that Coursera can monitor our own progress.
In Italiano:
Avreste sempre desiderato seguire un corso di una prestigiosa università americana, ma avete desistito a causa della distanza e dei costi? Adesso è possibile farlo: attraverso Coursera chiunque ha l’opportunità di iscriversi gratis – secondo la tempistica accademica consueta – a un qualsiasi corso disponibile. Le discipline e gli ambiti d’interesse sono i più disparati, dalle materie scientifiche a quelle più prettamente umanistiche, secondo un criterio di qualità messo su da un consorzio delle università USA più famose.
Coursera mette a disposizione i materiali e gli insegnamenti, assieme alla bibliografia relativa, il tutto in maniera assolutamente gratuita, secondo un o percorso che risulta essere assai organizzato e coerente. Ultima cosa interessante: Coursera rilascia regolare certificato di frequenza e competenza.
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