Massive Open Online Courses offer a brain boost of free education

Wondering how to keep your teenager busy this summer when summer jobs are thin on the ground? Fancy tipping your toe back into education? Grainne McGuinness is raving about MOOCs, short online courses, many of which are free.

HAVE YOU thought about further study, but are unsure about whether you can commit to a course? Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an exciting development that could be exactly what you are looking for.

These are online, generally free, open access courses. Potential students can access them to learn about a huge variety of topics. MOOCs are normally much shorter than Open University or traditional distance learning courses, and don’t require as much of a time commitment per week. Students do not usually receive certification for completion, although some providers offer that option for a fee.