This Degree of Freedom web site will document my one-year experiment attempting to take all of the courses needed to learn the equivalent of what I’d get from a liberal arts Bachelors Degree entirely through free, online resources (with a focus on the Massive Open Online Classes, or MOOCs that have been in the news lately).
I’ve chosen this way of participating in the “MOOC experiment” for a number of reasons, notably:
- I’m a believer in the power of online tools to widen the circle of availability for learning, who also harbors no illusions regarding how far we still need to go in order to get reality to conform with all of the promises currently being made regarding educational technology
- I have a background in developing educational standards, curricula and courseware, as well as experience in educational and professional assessment which I hope will allow me to provide perspectives on not just how students learn but how the success of that learning can be accurately evaluated
- I’ve always been a peripatetic learner whose iPod contains university lectures vs. music. And as a work-from-home dad, I now have time on my hands to sample all of the online educational content needed to succeed with this project
I should also note that I have absolutely no stake in the success or failure of any of the MOOC (and other courseware) providers who will be covered on this site, other than the hope that they’ll provide the classes I need to pull this whole thing off.
In exchange, I’m hoping that Degree of Freedom will become a place where anyone interested in promising new options for online learning for all will be able to learn and share ideas.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or recommendations.
Now back to class!
Jonathan Haber
