Open Culture, which seeks to highlight ‘the best free cultural and educational media on the web’ has recently (April 29, 2009) posted ‘The Big List of OpenCourseWare Resources’ which lists 500+ courses offered through universities and colleges.

I’m sure there is a range of quality represented in this list but some prestigious universities such as Harvard, MIT and Yale appear and there are sufficient comments and ratings to assist in an initial quality sort.

Free Bible/Theology Courses
I note that the religion section is rather slim or have I missed some?

There is a Podcast of the Historical Jesus from Standford and a highly commended Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) is one of the 250+ courses that Yale offers.

For some light relief Ricky Gervais (of the Office) Does Biblical Creation Stand-Up.

What other acknowledged courses might you add to this assortment of audio and video resources?

Why aren’t there more open courses available and what are the barriers to making these possible?

The comments beneath some of the postings suggest there are a lot of people who enjoy listening to courses while they mow the lawn, go for a walk or commute to work. Hopefully when some of these courses can be done for credit (as one of the comments suggests) they will become even more popular but the list is a reminder of the value of study in aiding education even when no diploma or degree comes at the end.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Courtesy of Change the Thought.