why-support-mit-openlearning

...because together, we open learning

We believe that access to knowledge and high-quality education can empower people to improve their lives, their communities, and the world. And through our mission to transform education at MIT and beyond, we’re able to advance equitable access to education for anyone interested in learning.

We want people of all ages and backgrounds to learn with our free MIT courses and materials — available on MIT OpenCourseWare, MITx Online, and the MIT Open Learning Library. For the youngest of learners and their educators, K-12 learning activities and curricula are available on Full STEAM Ahead and the pK-12 website.

And we see the significant impact of research and innovation to improve learning and teaching, especially in our MIT Integrated Learning Initiative research on the science of learning and helping tackle pressing challenges like climate change and ethical use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence in education.

Opening up learning is opening education to radically change the world — and we hope you'll join us in this effort.

I cannot overstate the impact that MIT Open Learning has had on my education. I have been a student of MOOCs for several years now, and the courses offered by MIT Open Learning have been some of the most impactful and useful that I have taken. I have been able to take courses on a wide variety of topics, and the quality of the content and the instructors has been consistently excellent. I have also been able to use the courses I have taken to further my career, as many of the topics covered are directly relevant to the work I do. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to take advantage of MIT Open Learning, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a high-quality, affordable education.

Hikmat

College/University Student, Nepal

As a Brazilian student I am not exaggerating when I say MIT OCW has changed my life significantly for the better. Being a part of an extremely limited High School system (the Brazilian one), I would never have had the opportunity to take Calculus during High school, let alone Solid State Chemistry. These courses have greatly expanded my interests and opportunities and I'm forever grateful for that.

Anthony Grower

Marketing Specialist

I found an introductory Differential Equations course offered by MIT through edx and was simply captivated by the level of knowledge, explanation by the lecturer (Prof Mattuck). He tended to "explain" rather than "lecture". I knew MIT was a highly regarded uni and there was an exam at the end, so I was initially intimidated by the course, even though I had some background knowledge from my engineering degree. But the more I progressed, the more feedback I got from the website (both from the solutions and the staff themselves) and the more confidence I developed.

David

Independent / Lifelong learner, Australia

Creating, distributing, and sharing educational materials and courses from MIT requires financial support. Philanthropic support of MIT Open Learning advances MIT’s forward-thinking work in the emerging intersections of digital learning, educational technology, and learning science, harnessing their collective power to make knowledge and learning opportunities available to educators and learners around the world.

You and your gifts also help make the greatest impact in building new networks of learner communities, advancing technologies that deliver adaptive, personalized learning at all levels of education, and supporting the sustainable future of these very networks and tools.

You and your contribution open learning.

MIT Open Learning is the umbrella organization that houses and administratively supports MITx, MIT OpenCourseWare, and the MIT Open Learning Library among other educational innovations, research, and practice.

Yes! MIT is a 501(c)(3) institution, and your gift is fully tax-deductible within the limitations of U.S. federal income tax laws. Our tax identification number is 04-2103594. You will receive a receipt for tax purposes after making your gift.

There are several ways to make your gift to MIT Open Learning.

a.) The quickest and easiest way is to donate through our secure online web form.

b.) To mail your gift, please make your check payable to "MIT Open Learning" and mail it to*:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 412926
Boston, MA 02241-2926

c.) You can also make your gift via donor-advised funds, wire transfer, or planned giving. Please indicate that you would like to support MIT Open Learning (fund number: 3894990). For questions, or to learn about other ways to give, please email mit-openlearning-giving@mit.edu.

You can choose to renew your gift automatically on a monthly or annual basis by setting up a recurring gift through our secure web form Recurring gifts can be set up for any amount and help us plan for the future by letting us know we can count on your support.

Yes, you can double your impact when your employer matches your gift to MIT Open Learning. To find out whether your company has a matching gift policy, please visit the MIT matching gifts page. Then make your donation to MIT Open Learning.

The endowment is intended to support current and future generations of MIT scholars with the resources needed to advance knowledge, research, and innovation. As such, endowment funds are typically restricted and used for Institute activities, including education, research, campus renewal, faculty work, and student financial aid. An unrestricted donation from learners and supporters directly to MIT Open Learning offers us the flexibility to use the funds where we need it most.

Spreading the word about MIT Open Learning to your network and community is another critical way you can help support MIT Open Learning.

You can also tell us how you’ve learned with MIT Open Learning by sharing your story and by connecting with us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Hearing from you helps us better understand the impact MIT Open Learning has for our learners, and how we might better serve your needs.

We also welcome you to sign up for our newsletter to keep up-to-date with our news and courses or follow our blog for stories of impact.

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Sara Feijo | MIT Open Learning

When June Odongo interviewed early-career electrical engineer Cynthia Wacheke for a software engineering position at her company, Wacheke lacked knowledge of computer science theory but showed potential in complex problem-solving.

Determined to give Wacheke a shot, Odongo turned to MIT OpenCourseWare to create a six-month “bridging course” modeled after the classes she once took as a computer science student. Part of MIT Open Learning, OpenCourseWare offers free, online, open educational resources from more than 2,500 courses that span the MIT undergraduate and graduate curriculum.

“Wacheke had the potential and interest to do the work that needed to be done, so the way to solve this was for me to literally create a path for her to get that work done,” says Odongo, founder and CEO of Senga Technologies.

Developers, Odongo says, are not easy to find. The OpenCourseWare educational resources provided a way to close that gap. “We put Wacheke through the course last year, and she is so impressive,” Odongo says. “Right now, she is doing our first machine learning models. It’s insane how good of a team member she is. She has done so much in such a short time.”

Making high-quality candidates job-ready

Wacheke, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nairobi, started her professional career as a hardware engineer. She discovered a passion for software while working on a dashboard design project, and decided to pivot from hardware to software engineering. That’s when she discovered Senga Technologies, a logistics software and services company in Kenya catering to businesses that ship in Africa.

Odongo founded Senga with the goal of simplifying and easing the supply chain and logistics experience, from the movement of goods to software tools. Senga’s ultimate goal, Odongo says, is to have most of their services driven by software. That means employees — and candidates — need to be able to think through complex problems using computer science theory.

“A lot of people are focused on programming, but we care less about programming and more about problem-solving,” says Odongo, who received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and an MBA from Harvard Business School. “We actually apply the things people learn in computer science programs.”

Wacheke started the bridging course in June 2022 and was given six months to complete the curriculum on the MIT OpenCourseWare website. She took nine courses, including: Introduction to Algorithms; Mathematics for Computer Science; Design and Analysis of Algorithms; Elements of Software Construction; Automata, Computability, and Complexity; Database Systems; Principles of Autonomy and Decision Making; Introduction to Machine Learning; and Networks.

“The bridging course helped me learn how to think through things,” Wacheke says. “It’s one thing to know how to do something, but it’s another to design that thing from scratch and implement it.”

During the bridging course, Wacheke was paired with a software engineer at Senga, who mentored her and answered questions along the way. She learned Ruby on Rails, a server-side web application framework under the MIT License. Wacheke also completed other projects to complement the theory she was learning. She created a new website that included an integration to channel external requests to Slack, a cross-platform team communication tool used by the company’s employees.

Cynthia-Wacheke-Senga-MIT_1

Cynthia Wacheke gives a presentation to members of the software team at Senga. Wacheke, who is the first person to complete the "bridging course" program, is now a software developer at Senga.

Continuous learning for team members

The bridging course concluded with a presentation to Senga employees, during which Wacheke explained how the company could use graph theory for decision-making. “If you want to get from point A to B, there are algorithms you can use to find the shortest path,” Wacheke says. “Since we’re a logistics company, I thought we could use this when we’re deciding which routes our trucks take.”

The presentation, which is the final requirement for the bridging course, is also a professional development opportunity for Senga employees. “This process is helpful for our team members, particularly those who have been out of school for a while,” Odongo says. “The candidates present what they’ve learned in relation to Senga. It’s a way of doing continuous learning for the existing team members.”

After successfully completing the bridging course in November 2022, Wacheke transitioned to a full-time software engineer role. She is currently developing a “machine” that can interpret and categorize hundreds of documents, including delivery notes, cash flows, and receipts.

“The goal is to enable our customers to simply feed those documents into our machine, and then we can more accurately read and convert them to digital formats to drive automation,” Odongo says. “The machine will also enable someone to ask a document a question, such as ‘What did I deliver to retailer X on date Y?’ or ‘What is the total price of the goods delivered?’”

The bridging course, which was initially custom-designed for Wacheke, is now a permanent program at Senga. A second team member completed the course in October 2023 and has joined the software team full time.

“Developers are not easy to find, and you also want high-quality developers,” Odongo says. “At least when we do this, we know that the person has gone through what we need.”

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Sara Feijo | MIT Open Learning

When Dustin Liang was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in June, the cancer consumed his life. But despite a monthlong hospital stay, aggressive chemotherapy treatments, and ongoing headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite, and nausea, the 17-year-old high school senior enrolled in MITx’s class 18.01.1x (Calculus 1A: Differentiation).

MITx, part of MIT Open Learning, offers hundreds of high-quality massive open online courses adapted from the MIT classroom for learners worldwide. The Calculus 1A: Differentiation course was designed and created by the Department of Mathematics and offered through the MITx program. Liang took the free course this summer in between treatment sessions and medical tests so that he could meet the four-year math requirement to graduate from a Massachusetts high school — an arrangement he made with his school.

In class, Liang learned how to differentiate functions and how to make linear and quadratic approximations. He then applied this knowledge to estimate his blood cell counts. “I was in a hospital bed when I saw the doctor draw a graph of my neutrophils on a whiteboard, and I thought you could apply a quadratic approximation to it to estimate my blood cell counts at a certain time in the future,” Liang recalls. “I talked to the doctors about it, and they said it was a good idea but that they currently didn’t have the technology to do that.”

When doctors conduct blood tests on a patient, they look at multiple cell counts. Three of those are especially important for cancer patients: hemoglobin, which is the protein in red blood cells responsible for the delivery of oxygen to tissues; platelets, tiny blood cells that help the body form clots to stop bleeding; and neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections.

“Heavy chemo kills all of the cells, regardless of whether they’re good or bad,” says Thomas Liang MS ’97, who is Dustin Liang’s father. “We asked the doctor a few times about the nadir [the lowest value of the neutrophil count after drug administration], but the doctors couldn't predict when Dustin would get to it. The anxiety was pretty high.”

While Liang was in the intensive care unit, his doctors ordered blood tests hourly to get a clearer picture of his blood cell counts. Being able to predict blood cell counts allows doctors to more accurately manage the next treatment procedure, and it allows patients and their caregivers to be more cautious and prepare for the next treatment.

Predicting neutrophil counts with math

After being hospitalized for weeks, Liang couldn’t wait to go home. He had his eyes locked on his absolute neutrophil count, which needed to reach 1,000 per microliter of blood in order for Liang to get discharged.

In Calculus 1A, Liang was learning how to predict the near future value of a function using linear or quadratic approximation methods. After seeing a doctor’s chart of his neutrophils, Liang hypothesized that he could use quadratic approximation to predict his neutrophil count.

“Given a series of points of the blood cell counts, a function can be modeled,” Liang explains. “So, predicting a future point not far away is mathematically feasible.”

Determined to test his idea, Liang called his mentor, Jiawen Sun, who works in a London security exchange firm as a trading analyst simulating and modeling stock market behavior. Sun helped Liang create a graph to estimate Liang’s neutrophil count at a certain time. When Liang compared the graph to his blood test results, he found that the math worked.

“I was able to predict the blood cell counts. It was a little off, but close enough,” Liang says. “There are some challenges in simulating the function of blood cells. However, the human blood cell counts turned out to be converging easier than the stock market to simulate.”

Now, Liang is working on a more accurate model for the neutrophil count based on input he received from doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He hopes to use data from other cancer patients to test his model; however, much more work will be needed to determine if this kind of model can be used on other patients.

“If this works, it will alleviate some of the anxiety of cancer patients, and make their lives a little bit easier,” Liang says. “For doctors, they will be able to come up with more accurate procedures for treating cancer.”

Searching for better treatment options

Liang completed Calculus 1A: Differentiation in September, receiving a grade of 100 percent on his final exam. “My other chemo had started, and I was feeling pretty bad when my dad told me the grade,” he recalls. “I’m proud I managed to accomplish something while I was undergoing chemo.”

Liang, who continues to undergo chemotherapy treatment, enrolled in class 18.01.2x (Calculus 1B: Integration) through MITx this fall semester. He is also taking an English class at his high school. After graduating from high school next year, Liang wants to study pre-med and become a cancer researcher.

“I was always pretty interested in the science field. Then I got cancer, and I got even more interested in it,” he says. “I want to research it, find ways to help people get rid of their cancer, and better patients’ treatment.”

For Thomas Liang, his son’s survival is the first priority. “I want him to be a successful survivor,” he says. “Dustin is a brilliant kid and a chess prodigy. He thinks fast. He’s very sensitive. He doesn’t talk a lot, but is very popular among his friends. He's a kindhearted kid. I am proud of his aspirations to be a doctor.”

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Samantha Edelen | MIT Department of Biology

When she was a child, Mary Ellen Wiltrout PhD ’09 didn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a K-12 teacher. Growing up in southwestern Pennsylvania, Wiltrout was studious with an early interest in science — and ended up pursuing biology as a career.

But following her doctorate at MIT, she pivoted toward education after all. Now, as the director of blended and online initiatives and a lecturer with the Department of Biology, she’s shaping biology pedagogy at MIT and beyond.

Establishing MOOCs at MIT

To this day, E.C. Whitehead Professor of Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator emeritus Tania Baker considers creating a permanent role for Wiltrout one of the most consequential decisions she made as department head.

Since launching the very first MITxBio massive online open course 7.00x (Introduction to Biology – the Secret of Life) with professor of biology Eric Lander in 2013, Wiltrout’s team has worked with MIT Open Learning and biology faculty to build an award-winning repertoire of MITxBio courses.

MITxBio courses are currently hosted on the learning platform edX, established by MIT and Harvard University in 2012, which today connects 86 million people worldwide to online learning opportunities. Within MITxBio, Wiltrout leads a team of instructional staff and students to develop online learning experiences for MIT students and the public while researching effective methods for learner engagement and course design.

“Mary Ellen’s approach has an element of experimentation that embodies a very MIT ethos: applying rigorous science to creatively address challenges with far-reaching impact,” says Darcy Gordon, instructor of blended and online initiatives.

Mentee to motivator

Wiltrout was inspired to pursue both teaching and research by the late geneticist Elizabeth “Beth” Jones at Carnegie Mellon University, where Wiltrout earned a degree in biological sciences and served as a teaching assistant in lab courses.

“I thought it was a lot of fun to work with students, especially at the higher level of education, and especially with a focus on biology,” Wiltrout recalls, noting she developed her love of teaching in those early experiences.

Though her research advisor at the time discouraged her from teaching, Jones assured Wiltrout that it was possible to pursue both.

Jones, who received her postdoctoral training with late Professor Emeritus Boris Magasanik at MIT, encouraged Wiltrout to apply to the Institute and join American Cancer Society and HHMI Professor Graham Walker’s lab. In 2009, Wiltrout earned a PhD in biology for thesis work in the Walker lab, where she continued to learn from enthusiastic mentors.

“When I joined Graham’s lab, everyone was eager to teach and support a new student,” she reflects. After watching Walker aid a struggling student, Wiltrout was further affirmed in her choice. “I knew I could go to Graham if I ever needed to.”

After graduation, Wiltrout taught molecular biology at Harvard for a few years until Baker facilitated her move back to MIT. Now, she’s a resource for faculty, postdocs, and students.

“She is an incredibly rich source of knowledge for everything from how to implement the increasingly complex tools for running a class to the best practices for ensuring a rigorous and inclusive curriculum,” says Iain Cheeseman, the Herman and Margaret Sokol Professor of Biology and associate head of the biology department.

Stephen Bell, the Uncas and Helen Whitaker Professor of Biology and instructor of the Molecular Biology series of MITxBio courses, notes Wiltrout is known for staying on the “cutting edge of pedagogy.”

“She has a comprehensive knowledge of new online educational tools and is always ready to help any professor to implement them in any way they wish,” he says.

Gordon finds Wiltrout’s experiences as a biologist and learning engineer instrumental to her own professional development and a model for their colleagues in science education.

“Mary Ellen has been an incredibly supportive supervisor. She facilitates a team environment that centers on frequent feedback and iteration,” says Tyler Smith, instructor for pedagogy training and biology.

Prepared for the pandemic, and beyond

Wiltrout believes blended learning, combining in-person and online components, is the best path forward for education at MIT. Building personal relationships in the classroom is critical, but online material and supplemental instruction are also key to providing immediate feedback, formative assessments, and other evidence-based learning practices.

“A lot of people have realized that they can’t ignore online learning anymore,” Wiltrout noted during an interview on The Champions Coffee Podcast in 2023. That couldn’t have been truer than in 2020, when academic institutions were forced to suddenly shift to virtual learning.

“When Covid hit, we already had all the infrastructure in place,” Baker says. “Mary Ellen helped not just our department, but also contributed to MIT education’s survival through the pandemic.”

For Wiltrout’s efforts, she received a COVID-19 Hero Award, a recognition from the School of Science for staff members who went above and beyond during that extraordinarily difficult time.

“Mary Ellen thinks deeply about how to create the best learning opportunities possible,” says Cheeseman, one of almost a dozen faculty members who nominated her for the award.

Recently, Wiltrout expanded beyond higher education and into high schools, taking on several interns in collaboration with Empowr, a nonprofit organization that teaches software development skills to Black students to create a school-to-career pipeline. Wiltrout is proud to report that one of these interns is now a student at MIT in the class of 2028.

Looking forward, Wiltrout aims to stay ahead of the curve with the latest educational technology and is excited to see how modern tools can be incorporated into education.

“Everyone is pretty certain that generative AI is going to change education,” she says. “We need to be experimenting with how to take advantage of technology to improve learning.”

Ultimately, she is grateful to continue developing her career at MIT biology.

“It’s exciting to come back to the department after being a student and to work with people as colleagues to produce something that has an impact on what they’re teaching current MIT students and sharing with the world for further reach,” she says.

As for Wiltrout’s own daughter, she’s declared she would like to follow in her mother’s footsteps — a fitting symbol of Wiltrout’s impact on the future of education.

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By sharing knowledge and innovations of MIT to learners and educators across all levels of education, we open learning, pathways, and possibilities for people to improve themselves, their livelihood, and communities.

We are committed to contributing and supporting the ever expanding global Open Education Resources (OER) movement, collaborating with others to make OER more inclusive and culturally relevant for all learners. We are dedicated to teaching and creating the curricula, technologies, and training to improve online learning outcomes and engagement for diverse learners.

To find out how you can help us, please contact the MIT Open Learning Resource Development team at mit-openlearning-giving@mit.edu.

MIT OpenCourseWare

https://ocw.mit.edu/

OCW is a free and open publication of material from thousands of MIT courses, covering the entire MIT curriculum. That's every MIT department and degree program, ranging from the introductory to the most advanced graduate level. Each OCW course includes a syllabus, some instructional material (such as lecture notes or a reading list), and some learning activities (such as assignments or exams). Many courses also have complete video lectures, free online textbooks, and faculty teaching insights. While some OCW content is custom-created for online use, most of it comes straight from the MIT classroom.

Learn with OCW

MITx Online

https://mitxonline.mit.edu/

Learners anywhere in the world can enroll in a course of their choosing and learn for free, or aim to earn a certificate for a low fee.

Learn with MITx

MIT Open Learning Library

https://openlearning.mit.edu/courses-programs/open-learning-library

MIT Open Learning Library is a distinct collection of educational resources from MITx and MIT OpenCourseWare. As part of MIT’s commitment to openly sharing learning materials with the world, all of the resources on Open Learning Library are free to use and available to all learners worldwide without registration. The resources on Open Learning Library allow learners to learn at their own pace while receiving immediate feedback through engaging interactive content and exercises. Open Learning Library does not offer the ability to earn certificates. Learn more by viewing our Frequently Asked Questions.

Learn with MIT Open Learing Library

MIT Full STEAM Ahead

https://fullsteam.mit.edu/

Free selected hands-on learning activities for students in kindergarten through high school. Parents and educators will find complete educational packages that were created as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort now focuses on an in-person summer program for middle school students and project based learning training for educators.

Learn with MIT Full STEAM Ahead

MIT pK12

https://pk12.mit.edu

Creating meaningful learning experiences for young learners, educators and leaders around the world through co-design, capacity building, and impactful work at scale.

Learn with MIT pK12

We work with MIT faculty, students, and staff to further our scientific understanding of teaching and learning to explore how people learn and how they can learn better. MIT Integrated Learning Initiative’s (MITili) research looks at learning from many vantage points, including scale and demographics—spanning topics from the neurons that help us learn to government policies impacting schools—and from birth through pK-12, higher education, and workplace learning.

We also collaborate and empower MIT faculty to use digital technologies to augment and transform how they teach, making it more effective and efficient for MIT students and faculty. The Open Learning Residential Education team supports these digital innovations and shares them openly with the world so that others can learn and use our pedagogical approaches.

Digital learning innovations are also supported by the MIT Digital Learning Lab who are early pioneers and today’s leaders in designing open online courses. They use evidence-based teaching and learning practices for developing new MIT and online courses and programs and publish research in the fields of learning science. MIT students and learners around the world benefit from their online learning research and deployment in MIT classrooms and open online courses.

Openly creating and sharing knowledge, improving and training educators on innovative pedagogy, and ensuring everyone has access to these and the tools are ways we help meet significant challenges of the day – climate change, displacement, declining academic performance, rising mental health struggles, and widening disparities (particularly in educational pathways to STEM careers).

Some of our efforts are focused on the youngest of learners because they are the next generation of creative thinkers and doers.

Day of Climate. Equip K-12 learners and educators with the knowledge and tools to better understand and find solutions to climate change. Day of Climate will provide elementary, middle, and high school-age learners and educators with free, high-quality, and accessible climate curriculum activities that can be used in and out of the classroom and afterschool programs, year-round. Day of Climate activities will also support learners in active inquiry, critical thinking, creative problem solving, and advocacy for climate and sustainability action in their own communities.

Access and equity in holistic STEAM. Coordinate and build upon online/offline holistic STEAM enrichment and community building programs for students from across the United States. Through targeted outreach by Open Learning staff, we will engage local educators and MIT alumni to provide in-person support and encouragement. We believe this effort can equip underrepresented and underserved students locally and at-scale to pursue and succeed in higher education STEAM fields.

AI for All. Increase equity in K-12 education by providing global learners with an innovative AI literacy curriculum that introduces them to these technologies, its responsible design and use, teaches practical and holistic skills development, and opens opportunities for them to pursue further education and careers in AI. We will also develop a pilot to test AI tutor supports for student learning that model and integrate with effective pedagogies such as social learning and project-based learning. This work will occur in formal and informal learning contexts with the intent to improve online and hybrid learning outcomes and engagement for diverse learners.

We welcome you to learn more about how you can help us and support our efforts to open learning.

Contact the MIT Open Learning Resource Development team at mit-openlearning-giving@mit.edu.
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