Free online learning courses are non-formal educational courses that are offered for free. The main difference between a formal online distance education program and a free online learning course is that no degree, diploma or certificate of completion is awarded for the latter. Although free courses can be informative and intellectually stimulating, no grades are awarded for them and there is no method available to assess your learning. It is entirely up to you to decide how far you want to push yourself and to set your own standards. The curriculum and content are not supervised by a qualified professional; there is also no way to compare their performance with that of their peers. Free online learning courses can be helpful if you want to improve your knowledge or gain skills in a particular topic or area of interest on your distance learning.
A large number of free courses on various topics are available on the Internet. These include courses on topics such as health care, including anatomy, physiology, nursing, and dental treatment; information technology (computer programming, databases, office applications); business management including modules on marketing, entrepreneurship, sales; building and construction (plumbing, electricity, masonry); electronics, mathematics (from arithmetic to calculus); science (including astronomy, earth science, and physics).
It is advisable to do a credibility check before starting a free online course. Since almost anyone can post a free online course on the Internet, the quality of the content of online courses is often questionable. The good news is that renowned learning institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, have made all course material available on the Internet. There is no charge to access this high-quality educational content from an internationally recognized institute and it is available to all interested students, regardless of the country they are in.