“Education isn’t for getting a job. It’s about developing yourself as a human being.”
― Liz Berry, The China Garden
I may have dropped out of university in my early 20s, but I am one of those people you might call a “lifelong learner”. The only thing keeping me from going back to school and finishing my degree at this point is the logistics of it all – two young kids, a job, bills to pay? Unfortunately that mundane stuff has to come first. But you can bet that as soon as I’m able, that Communications degree will be mine. Mine, I tell you!
Until then, I have to find other ways to satisfy my ever-present need to keep learning. I’ve taken courses applicable to my job [all not very exciting business administration stuff], cooking classes, dance lessons, even a multi-course photography certificate to help me hone my creative skills. There’s more I’d like to take as well – knitting classes, maybe a gardening workshop. But recently, a friend introduced me to a fascinating concept: Massive Open Online Courses. These are courses open to anyone with a computer and an internet connection, and at least in the case of the courses offered by Coursera, taught by top university professors. And in many cases, they’re free. There often isn’t much in the way of prerequisites for most of the courses, and all it takes is a few hours of your week.
I have yet to take a course yet, but I’m about to. I have spent most of my time looking at Coursera’s course list, as their website is easy to navigate and offers a pretty wide variety of course topics. Of primary interest to me, especially with this new blog venture, are the environmental courses. I’ve signed up for Climate Literacy: Navigating Climate Change Conversations [starting May 20] and Sustainability of Food Systems: A Global Life Cycle Perspective [starting June 14]. I am hoping that these will give me valuable perspective and food for thought as I try to stay on top of important environmental issues, and possibly even blog about them.
So, who wants to be my study buddy?
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