Open learning

Facts and figures to sustain your inner geek

by Matt Mahoney
August 21, 2019

In 1999, President Charles Vest asked a faculty committee how best to use the internet to further MIT’s mission. Its revolutionary recommendation: put all of MIT’s course materials online for free. In 2002, MIT OpenCourseWare did just that for 50 MIT classes; today it posts materials for 2,450. And since MIT and Harvard teamed up in 2012 to launch edX, a free open-source platform for online learning, MIT has been offering a growing number of classes online.Now MIT’s expansive Open Learning initiatives serve both MIT students and learners around the world.