I came across EdX on the Colbert Report, of all places and I got immediately excited.

Colbert had the president of EdX, Anant Agarwal on to talk about the program – a free online university offering courses from some of the best universities on the planet.

And when I say some of the best universities I am not engaging in hyperbole. Participating schools include MIT, Harvard, Australian National University, the University of Toronto, McGill, Cornell, the University of Hong Kong and Peking University.

The model is simple. You browse a list of available courses, read descriptions and register for the ones you want to take. You can choose to audit a course or to take it graded. If you choose to take the course graded and you pass you are issued a certificate of mastery indicating the university that offered the course.

Writers are life-long learners. Sometimes we stop going to school but we never stop reading, researching, adding to our understanding of the world.

EdX provides easy access to up-to-date learning on deeply academic subjects, freely, without needing to travel. It is, simply put, one of the best research tools writers have ever had.

The internet changed the research game forever. Edx has the potential, if it becomes a successful and long-term educational institution, to be nearly as seismic a shift in the way we perceive research and continuing education.

I’ve included links at the top. Seriously, check this thing out.