What the Tech? App of the Day: edX
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(ABC 6 News) – As college students return to the classroom this week, mom and dad can go off to college themselves without leaving home. Surprise your family or boss when they learn you’re attending Harvard University in your spare time?
A smartphone app and website, edX offers the opportunity to attend a premier college or university. For free.
edX started as a website. Now the edX app for iPhone and Android devices offers anyone classes at universities such as Harvard, Cornell, Edinburgh, Cambridge, and many others. There are over a thousand courses to choose from. Classes in Architecture, Chemistry, Business and Management, Philosophy, and education.
The app is easy to use (though the classes aren’t that easy I expect). Enroll in a class within the app and you’ll get to see lectures from actual professors at those universities. When you open the app to enroll in a class, it may say the class starts that day.
When I checked it a few times this week, the classes also showed they start that day. I imagine it’s to show potential students that you can start a course or class whenever you want.
College students will start classes soon but you can get a college education without stepping on a campus. In fact, you can even get an Ivy League education for free in the Ed X app. Courses from some of the most reputable universities around the world including Harvard and Cornell are available in this app.
I enrolled in a course in contract law at Harvard. The first class, an introduction, includes a pre-recorded lecture that featured animations that seemed to keep me watching the screen. Do homework that will be graded and a discussion board and discuss the classes with other students. Take the course at your pace whether that is every day or a few hours each week. The app allows you to audit courses for free or you can pay a subscription and receive a certificate of completion when you finish.
If you’re really serious about going back to school you can earn a bachelors degree or even a Masters at prestigious universities. For a fee of course. A Master’s degree in computer science at the University of Texas is $10,000. You can also apply for Financial aid on the website and in the apps.
edX is a free app. You can also take courses on a computer by visiting the EdX website at edex.org. Going to college at any level isn’t easy, but this is an easy way to earn a degree or a new skill, while on your smartphone.