The rapidly growing Covid-19 outbreak has led to the closure of academic institutions and the disruption of on-campus classroom activities.
With the Movement Control Order being enforced from March 18 to April 14, it’s time for educators and students to dive into the world of e-learning.
There are many resources available online, ranging from week-long courses to project-based activities. Higher Ed puts together seven free e-learning platforms that students can explore.
Class Central
Class Central is a hub of thousands of free online courses and massive open online courses, or MOOCs, from top universities namely Harvard University, Stanford University and Imperial College London as well as organisations such as IBM.
Students can choose from a listing of courses in various fields like computer science and humanities as well as academic writing. Lessons are delivered through videos, readings, assessments, and forums.
Once users click on the link, they will be taken to the page of the course providers such as EdX and Coursera. Students can receive course recommendations, track subjects and courses, and leave reviews.
Link: https://www.classcentral.com/
Skillshare
Skillshare is an online platform to learn new skills such as animation, photography, UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) design, illustration and business analytics. Video lessons are delivered by passionate creators as well as experts in their field such as the Graphic Design MFA program director at Maryland Institute College of Art Ellen Lupton.
Focused on creativity and project-based learning, Skillshare allows students to practice what they learn, share their work with other learners and receive feedback.
There are many free classes to choose from. For unlimited access to over 20,000 courses, a premium account is needed but a free trial is available for the first two months.
Link: https://www.skillshare.com/
Crash Course on Youtube
Launched by the famous author John Green and his brother Hank Green, Crash Course offers 38 main video series in subjects such as World History, Anatomy and Biology, Literature, Statistics, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering and more. Running between six to 50 episodes, each series has its own learning objectives and teaching style according to the respective host.
Students can also gain soft skills such as time management, study skills or even learn a history lesson in Arabic. For bite-sized information, enjoy Recess which comes in short animated episodes. To date, the channel has garnered over 10.6 million subscribers and 1.2 billion views.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse
Kurzgesagt on Youtube
German for “in a nutshell”, Kurzgesagt is an animation studio founded by Philipp Dettmer with the aim to showcase the beauty of science. The minimalist educational animation discusses complex topics in science, technology, politics, philosophy and psychology, in a simpler way.
With over 11.6 million subscribers and 936 million views, students can find informative videos like “Wormholes Explained” and “How bacteria rules your body.”
Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt/
Just Write on YouTube
Featuring video essays on literature and films, Just Write is an online resource created by Sage Hyden for aspiring writers, readers and film lovers.
Students can explore their creativity through video tutorials such as “What writers should learn from Batman Begins” or engage in the study and analyses of great classic and contemporary films like Network, The Lord of The Rings, Parasite and Knives Out. For additional resources, head over to the blog which houses related write-ups and reading lists.
Links:
https://www.youtube.com/user/mythicalsage
Scribd
Reading can be a source of comfort during difficult times. Scribd is offering its digital library for free, for 30 days, amid the Covid-19 outbreak. With no credit cards required, one only needs to create an account to access millions of e-books, audiobooks, podcasts, articles from magazines like Time and Bloomberg Businessweek, sheet music, academic papers and more.
In his statement, Scribd chief executive officer Trip Adler said: “We hope reading can offer you solace during these difficult times.” Apart from the website, users can also download its mobile app.
Link: https://www.scribd.com/
Jstor
Jstor is a digital library that provides access to over 12 million academic journal articles, books and primary sources. The collection includes peer-reviewed scholarly journals, respected literary journals and research reports.
In light of the pandemic, participating university students and academics can enjoy expanded access to all Jstor unlicensed collections and over 25,000 books and 26 journal archives on Public Health for free until June 30. Those who are not on campus can sign-in to their accounts remotely. This is very helpful especially for researchers and postgraduate students.
Links: https://www.jstor.org/