The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, is doing something very exciting. They have created something called MIT Open Courseware.

I have died on gone to heaven! These courses are free and they are online and they originate at MIT. They range from Aeronautics to Writing, stopping along the way at Languages, Economics, History, Women's Studies, Business, Music, Mathematics and on and on.

Some are even on video: I was already familiar with Walter Lewin's Physics Courses from the University of Washington Channel and Gilbert Strang's Linear Algebra Course available in streaming video.

I was reviewing Professor Strang's course, when by chance, I moved to another browser page at the site and there they were-the keys to the kingdom. Free. Walk in. There is the Course outline, syllabus and calendar, lecture notes, assignments, exams, further on-line resources, in some cases video or audio recordings of the lectures, and an on-line discussion group.

This is available, online, from arguably the greatest technical school in the world, perhaps the greatest university in the world, technical or not.

Two of my alma maters are also doing something along the same line. As I mentioned above, the University of Washington is broadcasting courses - both internet and television - and with relatively uncomplicated camera work along with fairly good lighting and sound, they are simply pointing the camera at the lectern and out it goes. The UW had a fabulous graduate course in Industrial Engineering just a few years back. Harvard Business School (alas limited only to alums as far as I know) has a video library of conferences and seminars that are playable over RealPlayer. Unlike the science courses where drawings play a central role, the business courses are (at least to a larger extent) comprehensible on audio-only, without slides or chalk boards, so they can make drive time a pleasure.

But in as far as I have seen, the frontrunner is MIT.

The reader might ask why this worthy of a blog. "Knock yourself out, but MIT courses aren't most people's cup of tea."

The virtual University will not replace the traditional University or classes and I will illustrate with a story of why I think human interaction is important. Two years ago I returned to the State University and took some additional mathematics courses. I enrolled in upper division mathematics classes where the other students were young enough to be my children's age. That's where I learned of Strang's MIT Course on-video. I am mature enough and interested enough in the subject not to require the professor to bang the drum to attend and to get me to do my homework. What my professors did that meant the most was that they graded and returned my homework. I got my precious "red marks" where I had messed up. That was worth the whole tuition right there.

And yes, there is a vitality that one gets in being in a classroom.

However, having the virtual courses is wonderful. If I were in secondary school and this technology was available to me, I am positive I would be taking advantage of the opportunity.

And I suppose the main reason I find this fascinating is that in the future, this kind of interactive learning will be commonplace.

As someone who has been out of school for some time, it is refreshing to know that you "still have what it takes" and likewise to find out that it does not take all that much to stay current and to also feel the excitement of staying current - notwithstanding that the sheer volume of information is mind boggling, but that is the nature of the beast for everyone.

The site is worth a look see, even for people who are not as enthralled about MIT as I am. It is a peek into the future-even if that peek is only a look just around the corner.

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