I had a discussion with one of my colleagues the other day.

He believes that education is really important. And by education, he meant the traditional way of going to school and then getting a Bachelor degree and then maybe a Master degree or even a PHD.

Whereas for me, I’d rather get a GHD (hair straightener) than a PHD. In fact, I just bought one last month – and it is so worth it! Oh  back to the topic… I am all about “maybe going to uni or getting a degree is a little overrated”.

Don’t get me wrong. I did my fair share of schooling. I finished high school and owned a piece of paper that says “Bachelor of Multimedia (Media Studies)”. So I’m not saying schooling or traditional educational institutions is no longer relevant. In fact, I’d encourage everyone to go to uni! But I guess my point is, you don’t have to go to uni just because you have to. Go only when you are ready. Study only when you are prepared to learn.

Most of the times, when you’re in your teens, you don’t know what you want to do in life yet. You might think “oh yeah, let’s just do this since I have to”, when you can technically go explore the world a little, learn a skill that might be useful, try various occupations, find a place where you belong and only then study what you think will benefit your future. Makes sense, no?

Also, as much as I don’t have anything against traditional institutions, I do think that there are so many other ways nowadays to learn and educate yourself. In the past, these options might not be available for us; we need the lecturers and the books and the exams. Now we have online video courses, free courses made available by university lecturers, audio podcasts, professional networking with like-minded people, etc. We have so many different ways to learn and grow.

My personal favourite? Free online learning providers, of course. And when you are in the phase of life where you do want to learn, these online courses are perfect for you! Yes, you will need to be determined and disciplined. Yes, you will need to take time after a tiring work day to go online and research for an essay that will be graded by your fellow course-takers. Yes, you won’t get an official degree or certification. But you will learn.

Here are some free online learning providers for those with curious minds:

  • Coursera: I have completed a Gamification course from Coursera last October and have already enrolled to three other courses for next year. A very good learning experience; I can definitely recommend this to anyone who’s looking to broaden your knowledge!
  • Udacity: With a tagline of “Learn, think, do: Higher education for free”, Udacity is one of the more popular e-learning sites out there.
  • EdX: Free courses from various universities, this particular one had Bill Gates investing in it!
  • Khan Academy, Open Culture and of course TED are also good resources to learn and educate yourself, for free!
  • FutureLearn: More free online courses from many UK universities. Just added!

So, with all these free online courses and tutorials, is there still a need for institutionalised education? What will the future of education be like? Let’s talk about it.