30 Great Free Online Courses for Educators (Updated)

By TED Staff
June 2021

Education is an industry that’s constantly evolving, but free online courses for educators are a great way for teachers to stay up to date with the latest. Thanks to websites like Coursera and edX, anyone from anywhere in the world can take online classes from the world’s top colleges and universities. That means you can learn– on your preferred schedule — about tech in the classroom, brush up on child psychology, and brainstorm ways to bring diversity into the classroom. Though dozens of online education classes are available, we’ve got the rundown on 30 of the best online courses for educators.

American Education Reform: History, Policy, Practice

University of Pennsylvania

American Education Reform is a free online teaching course made available by University of Pennsylvania. The class examines the history of education reform in the United States, focusing on key players, decisions, and turning points. Participants may complete the 14-hour course at their own pace.
Online Course Website

Art & Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies for Your Classroom

Museum of Modern Art

Unlike most of the free online education courses on our list, Art & Inquiry is offered not by a university, but by the Museum of Modern Art. The class explores the ways in which teachers can incorporate works of art into their classrooms using the same inquiry-based teaching methods originally developed for in-gallery museum education. The class is flexible and self-paced, and takes about eight hours to complete.
Online Course Website

Assessment in Higher Education: Professional Development for Teachers

Erasmus University – Rotterdam

Assessment in Higher Education is a free online course offered by Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Taught entirely in English, the class guides participants through the different phases of preparing for, creating, and evaluating the assessments in one’s course. It takes approximately 18 hours to complete Assessment in Higher Education, though the class is entirely self paced.
Online Course Website

Becoming a More Equitable Educator: Mindsets and Practices

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Becoming a More Equitable Educator is the first of two free online education courses offered by MIT. In this course, participants will explore the mindsets and practices that help students to thrive and feel valued. A special emphasis is placed on working with underserved students. The course is designed to take 10 weeks to complete, though all lessons are self paced.
Online Course Website

Critical Issues in Urban Education

The University of Chicago

The University of Chicago offers educators from anywhere in the world this free online course titled Critical Issues in Urban Education. The course is self-paced, has flexible deadlines, and takes about 19 hours to complete. Its syllabus includes lessons on the No Child Left Behind Act and Common Core state standards.
Online Course Website

e-Learning Ecologies: Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Learning for the Digital Age

University of Illinois

In e-Learning Ecologies, a free online education course offered by University of Illinois, students explore answers to the question “How can we use technologies to innovate in education?” The course takes place entirely online, offers flexible deadlines, and takes about 19 hours to complete.
Online Course Website

Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual K-12 Classroom

University of California – Irvine

Emerging Trends & Technologies… is a free online course offered by U.C. Irvine. The class is self-paced with flexible deadlines, and takes about 10 hours to get through, start to finish. Its syllabus includes discussions on the role of technology and the use of games in virtual education, among other topics.
Online Course Website

Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Developing Relationships

Commonwealth Education Trust

Commonwealth Education Trust is a U.K.-based charity which invests in the professional development of teachers across the Commonwealth. The organization provides this free online course, Foundations of Teaching for Learning, via the popular website Coursera. The class covers the importance of, and the ways in which teachers can form relationships with students, colleagues, and others. It is all self paced, and takes about 13 hours to complete.
Online Course Website

Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Learners and Learning

Commonwealth Education Trust

Another free online course offered by the Commonwealth Education Trust is Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Learners and Learning. In this 13-hour course, participants will discuss the ways in which children learn from their peer group, and how educators can engage with their students. Special emphasis is placed on exploring how children learn and shape their identities.
Online Course Website

Get Interactive: Practical Teaching with Technology

University of London

Educators who have found themselves suddenly teaching online will surely want to take advantage of this free online course offered by University of London. Get Interactive is a beginner-level course which takes about 14 hours to complete. Over the course of the class, students will learn to create dynamic online lessons using multimedia tools and collaboration opportunities.
Online Course Website

Get Organized: How to be a Together Teacher

Relay Graduate School of Education

Teachers are often expected to juggle exhausting schedules and time-sensitive tasks. That’s why Relay Graduate School of Education, a NYC-based grad school just for teachers, offers this free online course via Coursera. The course is about 13 hours. Participants examine the reasons for planning ahead and learn about various tools for tracking commitments and deadlines. Teachers will also be able to develop a personal organization system that aligns with their day-to-day tasks.
Online Course Website

Getting Started with Google Classroom

Coursera Project Network

This guided project offered by the Coursera Project Network may prove invaluable to the teacher who is new to using Google Classroom. The course walks students through creating assignments, announcements, quizzes, and much more. Beginners are welcome, and the whole project takes about one hour to complete.
Online Course Website

Intercultural Competency in Education

The University of Iceland

Intercultural Competency in Education is a free online course for teachers and administrators offered by The University of Iceland. The five-week course is conducted entirely in English, and it is recommended that participants spend 2-4 hours per week working through it. Over the course of the class, participants will learn to develop strategies to deal with identities in a fairer and more coherent way, ultimately become more interculturally competent.
Online Course Website

Introduction to Family Engagement in Education

Harvard University

Introduction to Family Engagement in Education is a free online course from Harvard University that anyone involved in education is sure to find helpful. The six-week course covers the ways in which families and educators can successfully collaborate when it comes to students’ learning, and the improved outcomes for schools when this happens. Though the course is self-paced, it is recommended that participants dedicate 2-4 hours per week.
Online Course Website

Introduction to Multilingual and Multicultural Education

National Research University Higher School of Economics

Founded in 1992, the National Research University Higher School of Economics is one of Russia’s top universities. This free online course, titled Introduction to Multilingual and Multicultural Education, is taught entirely in English and takes about 10 weeks to complete. The course evaluates different teaching practices in multilingual and multicultural settings. By the end of the class, participants will have a better understanding of the needs of a multilingual/multicultural classroom.
Online Course Website

Leaders of Learning

Harvard University

Harvard University offers a slew of free online courses, one of which is Leaders of Learning. This 10-week-long course is self-paced, though 2-4 hours per week is recommended. Over the course of the class, participants will begin to understand their own implicit theories of learning and leadership. Those theories will be challenged by discussions on the ways in which neuroscience affects learning, what leadership looks like in different learning environments, and how an organization’s structure reflects its theories of learning.
Online Course Website

Learning, Knowledge, and Human Development

University of Illinois

Learning, Knowledge, and Human Development is a free online education course offered by University of Illinois via Coursera. The course provides students with a basic understanding of different theories of learning and development, and explains how those theories relate to current educational technology. The course is suitable for beginners, though educators of all experience levels are likely to appreciate it. The course takes about nine hours to complete.
Online Course Website

Learning to Teach Online

The University of New South Wales – Sydney

In this day and age, knowing how to teach well online is a skill every teacher must possess. For those educators who are making the leap to distance learning, there is Learning to Teach Online. It’s a free web-based course offered by The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The self-paced course takes about 17 hours to complete, and guides participants through understanding the ways in which online technologies can enhance the design of a class.
Online Course Website

Literacy Teaching and Learning: Aims, Approaches and Pedagogies

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois offers this free online course to anyone interested in teaching literacy. Literacy Teaching and Learning is completely self-paced, and takes about 22 hours to get through, start to finish. The class begins with an explanation of what literacy seeks to achieve, then goes on to discuss various approaches to literacy.
Online Course Website

Resilient Teaching Through Times of Crisis and Change

University of Michigan

If there’s anything our students have gotten too used to lately, it’s living through crisis and change. That makes this free online course from University of Michigan especially helpful for educators. Ideal for intermediate-level educators, the course takes about 20 hours to complete. Included in the syllabus are sections on “Principles of Resilient Design for Learning” and “Case Studies of Resilient Teaching.”
Online Course Website

Supporting Children With Difficulties in Reading and Writing

University of London

Supporting Children With Difficulties in Reading and Writing is a free online course from University of London in collaboration with the organization Dyslexia and Literacy International. Participants will learn exactly why some students have so much difficulty with reading and writing, and some best practices for teaching literacy based on recent scientific discoveries. The course takes approximately 19 hours to complete.
Online Course Website

Teach English Now! Teaching Language Online

Arizona State University

In recent years, a huge market for teaching English online has popped up. If you’re considering branching out into teaching English online, then this course is for you. Teach English Now! is ideal for intermediate-level students, and takes about 13 hours to complete.
Online Course Website

The Teacher’s Social and Emotional Learning

University of Colorado Boulder

Social and emotional learning, also known as SEL, is a hot-button topic in education these days. While SEL programs have proven successful in schools, this free course offered by University of Colorado Boulder examines why SEL programs need to be available for teachers, too. The course takes approximately 13 hours to complete, and is actually the first in a five-course series.
Online Course Website

Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom

Cornell University

Ivy League Cornell University provides this free online course to anyone who is interested. Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom explores how educators can create and maintain inclusive learning environments. The course consists of real stories, research-based lectures, and opportunities for reflection. It takes five weeks to complete the course.
Online Course Website

Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms

Relay Graduate School of Education

Relay Graduate School of Education, a private school for teachers located in New York City, offers this free course via the website Coursera. Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms explores the most important elements of positive psychology as they apply to K-12 pedagogy. The course consists of lectures, interviews, and classroom footage, and takes approximately 15 hours to complete.
Online Course Website

Teaching Children with Visual Impairment: Creating Empowering Classrooms

University of Cape Town

Currently, there is a global movement away from segregated special schooling and towards inclusive classroom. Teachers keen to know more about educating children with visual impairment, check this free online course from University of Cape Town. The class discusses what learning is like for the child who is visually impaired, and how educators can expand their core curriculum to include content areas of value to impaired learners. The course takes approximately 14 hours to complete, though participants can work through the lessons at their own pace.
Online Course Website

Teaching Impacts of Technology in K-12 Education: Fundamentals

University of California – San Diego

Teaching Impacts of Technology: Fundamentals is the first of six courses making up a series on the impact of technology on K-12 education. The course is offered by U.C. San Diego, and takes about 14 hours to complete. The course begins by examining the myriad ways in which a K-12 student interacts with technology in a 24-hour period. Then, the course dives into the impacts computing and streaming media have had on our lives both in and out of the classroom.
Online Course Website

Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art with the National Gallery of Art

SmithsonianX

Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art… is a free online course offered by SmithsonianX. The course guides teachers of all levels and subjects in integrating works of art using “Artful Thinking” routines. The 16-week course is self-paced, though it is recommended that participants dedicate 3-4 hours per week to completing it.
Online Course Website

Teaching Historical Inquiry with Objects

SmithsonianX

Teaching Historical Inquiry with Objects is another free online course offered by SmithsonianX. Ideal for teachers of middle and high school history, this fascinating class provides educators with new techniques for motivating students with an inquiry-based approach to learning. The course can be completed in six weeks.
Online Course Website

Understanding Child Development: From Synapse to Society

Utrecht University

Anyone involved in K-12 education knows the importance of a knowledge of child development. Teachers and other educators can brush up on the latest research by participating in this free online education course from Utrecht University. The class, which takes approximately 23 self-paced hours to complete, covers topics ranging from brain and motor development to social-emotional development.
Online Course Website