Stanford University is offering 10 online computer-science and electrical-engineering courses for free. The content will be offered through a variety of media and formats, including video on YouTube and podcasts on iTunes, and will present an introduction to computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics, and linear systems and optimization.
The courses will be covered under a Creative Commons license, which means that professors and students can download and use the courses for noncommercial purposes, as long as they give Stanford credit.
Stanford officials said the program could be expanded to include more courses if it proves popular and successful.
So, if you’re Stanford, why do this? To test a potentially lucrative market? To extend the brand? David Orenstein, a spokesman for Stanford, says that the college already offers online courses for tuition, so money is not a motivation here. Spreading Stanford’s brand name might be a benefit, he says. “At this point, there is not a grand motive,” he says, noting that similar projects have been offered by Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. —Scott Carlson
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