A Free, Green Education
Guide to No-Cost, Online Environmental Courses
Apr 25, 2007 Shirley Siluk Gregory
Do you feel as if you've subscribed to every possible green-living-oriented email newsletter, studied every green-minded magazine and read every book there is on eco-friendly, sustainable living? If you want to attain a more in-depth and academically-backed education in green and environmental issues, consider checking out a free, online OpenCourseWare program.
OpenCourseWare, based on the same concept as open-source software (which lets users access license-free software codes for their own personal and development purposes), provides free and easy online access to college and university courses in a wide range of subjects covering everything from agriculture and environmental science to nutrition and population issues. These are programs for self-starters who can set their own study schedules, seek out their own supplemental reading materials and delve into subjects without a lot of supervision from teachers or professors.
Browse the following sites to find curriculum offerings of the greatest interest to you; you won't be able to earn college credits but, if you're sufficiently motivated, you'll learn the same things as full-time university students -- all from the comfort of your own home and at your own pace. What better way to expand your knowledge of environmental responsibility and build a foundation for passing that knowledge along to others?
Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative: Carnegie Mellon's OpenCourseWare classes include programs in biology and chemistry, among many other topics.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health OpenCourseWare: Johns Hopkins' OpenCourseWare site offers online classes in environmental health, principles of human nutrition, and population change and public health, as well as in many other subject areas.
MIT: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which originated the concept of OpenSourceWare in 2001, offers online classes in everything from biology, ecology and geobiology to environmental Earth science, industrial landscapes and environment and society.
The Sofia Open Content Initiative: These online courses from the Foothill-De Anza Community College District in California include a class in physical geography.
Tufts University: Tufts' online courses include programs in agricultural science and policy, population medicine, producing films for social change, and tropical ecology and conservation.
Utah State University: Utah State's OpenCourseWare curriculum includes classes in such university extension programs as "Plant Diseases and Chemicals," "Climate and Landscapes" and "Soil-Based Hazardous Waste Management."
You can also search for or browse other online college course offerings in a variety of subjects, offered by institutions around the globe, at OpenCourseWare directories and searchable databases such as OpenCourseWare Finder, iberry, Open Content Online and OpenCourseWare Consortium.
What do you think about this article?
More in Home & Style
Latest Articles