Free or "open" courseware (MIT, Yale, etc)...on the CV or not?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by scotty, May 2, 2012.

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  1. scotty

    scotty New Member

    I am very much interested in some of the open courseware offerings out there today. Schools such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, Carnegie-Mellon and others put out their courses that you can study for free, but of course they give no credit or any evidence whatsoever that you actually completed the course.

    Sure, I am interested interested in the value of taking such courses in order to gain skills and intelligence, but most of them look very time-consuming and I wonder if it would be a better use of my time to complete some courses for credit at other, lower-tier schools just to get the proof of my efforts. So my question is, those of you who have completed such open courseware courses (or those of you contemplating it), would you try to show such an accomplishment on your CV and if so, how?
     
  2. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    I'm sure that it is possible to learn a lot from "open courseware". But I'm also sure you could learn a lot by checking out college textbooks from the library and reading them yourself. In fact, that second option has been available for a lot longer than open courseware.

    In theory, you could list the library books that you've completed on your CV, but I doubt that it would count for much. And you could list the open courseware that you've completed, but that may not count for much either.
     
  3. scotty

    scotty New Member

    Hahaha! That is about what I expected! :beerchug:

    However, I suspect the learning from such courses would be more effective than the learning from a textbook, given the availability of notes, exercises with answers, and video lectures. Plus, these are courses from excellent unis that draw from resources beyond one or two textbooks. I suspect putting it on a CV would be pretty much impossible.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 2, 2012
  4. keegan

    keegan New Member

    I don't think you should put it. But I do think if you make it to interview stage, you should definitely mention it. It would make you seem that you are continuously developing on your own time.
     
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    This would probably be my approach also. If I had completed something that had a certificate, though, even one that's non-credit, I might list it on my resume in an "Other Education" section or something. It depends on whether it were really noteworthy/relevant.
     
  6. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    The answer would be "NO." Only if you receive a certificate for particular study. I spent over 150 clock hours at VTE.CERT.ORG, even though I received certificate for every single course I completed. However, I have never listed any of them.

    - Certified Information Security Professional
    - Certified Ethical Hacker
    - Network Vulnerability Assessment
    - etc

    ----I only list when I received Professional Certifications.
     
  7. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Good news, the big joint venture that MIT and Harvard are doing (EduX or something like that) will be free and result in certificates!

    FWIW, I think anything that can be verified is fair game for a CV (certificate, letter, etc). Beyond that, it's likely viewed as just a hobby. There are ALWAYS ways to integrate though, just keep mulling it over, you'll think of a way.
     
  8. novadar

    novadar Member

    cookderosa: It is EdX. Here are the details: MIT and Harvard announce edX | Harvard Gazette
    They give " Certificates of mastery will be available for those motivated and able to demonstrate their knowledge of the course material."
     
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    And someone's resume calls it "Master of..." in 3... 2... 1...
     
  10. novadar

    novadar Member

    Steve, well a "free" Masters from Harvard/MIT would be quite appealing. It brings up an interesting situation. Diploma mills are blasted here (and rightfully so). These courses are from a joint venture of two of the most recognized brands in Higher Education. If we get into a war of "wrongs" what is the worse wrong? A "Master" certificate from Harvard/MIT or a Master of X from (insert diploma mill).
     

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