The advancement in technology and the desire that people have to get that edge required to remain competitive in the harsh economic climate has created the need for universities and colleges to post learning material on the internet. This material can be accessed by anyone. This new progress is what Open Courseware is all about.  It saves e-learners a lot of money on tuition and allows prospective students to see exactly what goes on in the universities and colleges.

Open Courseware has developed to a great extent and now there are numerous directories, search engines, archives, lists and web tools that are easily available to people who want to learn using the internet. There are many links that an e-learner can make use of on the internet. This article will highlight the top seven Open Courseware links for e-learners.  The links also have other links that will direct you to other websites and pages that can offer you more information on the subject you are interested in. The links include:

1. 101 Killer Open Courseware Projects from Around the World: Ivy League and Beyond
This link contains a list of one hundred projects from across the world that is offered by universities and colleges. The projects give e-learners supplementary material to use. There is no charge for the service and as long as you can access the internet you can use the material. It is important to note that credits cannot be earned on these projects. There is also a list of libraries for various textbooks. The list offers the list of projects in an alphabetical order.

2. 236 Open Courseware collections, podcasts and videos
This link gives you a variety of digital archives, e-books & e-texts, podcasts, broadcast learning, directories and searches that will be helpful for any subject.

3. British Academy Portal
With this link you will have access to the British Academy’s online resources. The directory will give you access to material on the social sciences and humanities. It is suitable for those who are doing research and those in higher learning institutions.

4. American Memory
This is a link that directs you to a directory that has 18 collections from the Library of Congress. It is useful for those who want material on the history of America.

5. MIT Open Courseware
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads when it comes to open courseware. Their directory is very extensive. The courses on the directory are listed according to the department. For each department, you will find the course and when it is being offered.

6. Bard’s Song
This is a link to a directory that has material on literature, photography, various music forms, theatre, drawing and dance.

7. World Lecture Hall
This gives e-learners the opportunity to get access to course material from various countries in the world. E-learners have a chance to get material by searching for the particular course they want, by the area or even to conduct an advanced search for relevant information.