Importance of education: BYU Independent Study offers no-cost online classes
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When the cornerstone of the Far West Temple was placed, Sidney Rigdon, according to the book Distinctive Teachings of the Restoration by Wendell O. Rich, declared, "Next to the worship of our God, we esteem the education of our children and of the rising generation." From the very foundation of the Church, education, intelligence and knowledge of things both spiritual and temporal have been strongly encouraged. Fast forward almost 200 years and that same commitment to lifelong learning can be found online: more than 50 free online courses offered through BYU's Independent Study. You don't even need to be a BYU student to take them.
The origins of BYU Independent Study go back to correspondence courses organized in 1921, with 151 enrollments. With advances in technology through the years, BYU Independent Study is able to reach a worldwide audience and in accordance with the mission of the BYU Division of Continuing Education — "extend the services and spirit of the university beyond the campus." Even though many universities offer free online course content with a wide range of subject matter, the offerings from BYU Independent Study are uniquely tied to the BYU mission.
The free online course catalog initially developed from the desire to offer more information about family history to a broader audience. John Taylor, director of independent study at BYU said, "We sought out certified or accredited genealogists and contracted with them to teach their specialty at a distance." As time has passed, requests covering a variety of topics have come in and new courses have been added on various topics, such as gospel studies. Brother Taylor said, "In some cases, a course is offered in this format because a university department or faculty member expresses a desire to allow any who are interested to access their courses for personal growth."
The benefit for students is not a grade or university credit; these courses are non-graded. The personal enrichment gained by studying course material prepared by topic experts is the prize. The university benefits by realizing one of its missions — "assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life."
In some cases the same content is available in a class given for credit; others are retired courses which are no longer available. In some cases the class was developed specifically for the personal enrichment format at the request of the author or department. "The most popular subject areas for these courses are family life and basic academic skills. Annually, we have many thousands of enrollments for each of these courses," said Brother Taylor.
The free courses can be accessed online at is.byu.edu/is/site/courses/free.cfm. Users will need to create an account. BYU Independent Study is dedicated to adding more classes as time goes on and is currently looking at a new Introduction to Family History course which contains updated material covering use of modern technologies.
The acquisition of education, knowledge and intelligence are worthy of our time because of their value in the eternities. The resources available now are infinitely greater than only a few generations ago.
Free course offerings:
Introduction to Family History Research
Writing Family History
Helping Children Love Your Family History
Family Records
Vital Records
Military Records
French Research
German Research
Huguenot Research
Scandinavian Research
Strengthening Marriage and Family: Proclamation Principles and Scholarship
Building a Functional Family: Essential Elements
Dating: Romance and Reason
Rearing Responsible and Righteous Teens in a Wicked World
Developing Self-Reliant People
Planning and Preparing Your Garden
Growing Vegetables, Fruits, and Nuts
The Citizen's Guide to American Politics
Basic Arithmetic, Part 1
Basic Arithmetic, Part 2
Basic Arithmetic, Part 3
Basic Arithmetic, Part 4
Organ Performance, Level 1, Self-Study
Organ Performance, Level 2, Self-Study
Organ Performance, Level 2, Certification
Marriott School of Management: Personal Finance
Student Finance
English as a Second Language--Chinese Speakers
Basic English for Spanish Speakers
Self-Discipline
Honesty
Trust
Study Skills
Bowling
Intermediate Swimming
Temples Past and Present
Preparing to Serve the Lord
The Living Prophets
1 Nephi 1 through Alma 30
Alma 30 through Moroni
Sections 1 through 87
Sections 88 through Official Declaration 2
The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, Part 1
The New Testament
The Writings of John: The Gospel
Old Testament
Contractions, Capitalization, and "ei/ie" Words
Word Endings and Plurals
Word Pairs
