Monday, 14 May 2012

List of Free Online Horticulture Courses and Training Programs

Free online horticulture courses offer information and instruction on a wide variety of topics within the field. Some of the free online content is provided via streaming videos and downloadable lecture notes that can be viewed and read at a self-paced schedule.

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Free Online Horticulture Course Information

Horticulture training and courses are offered through Utah State University, the University of Arkansas, the University of Maryland, the University of Connecticut and Brigham Young University. The courses and information provided by each school is different. For example, the instruction provided on the University of Maryland Extension site consists of a large number of PDF files on various aspects of horticulture.
Students who wish to view these documents must ensure that they have a PDF viewer installed on their personal computer. In contrast, Utah State University offers instruction by allowing students to download or stream a video lecture. Students who plan to take this course must ensure that they're using the most up-to-date browser with the appropriate plug-ins pre-installed so that they can view all the video content online.

List of Free Horticulture Courses and Training Programs

Plant Diseases & Chemicals at Utah State University

The Plant Diseases & Chemicals courses offered through the University Extension at Utah State University is divided into two sections. The first section covers chemicals for plants, and the final section includes information on diagnosing plant diseases. Each module consists of two video lectures that can be streamed or downloaded. The chemicals for plants lectures are each ten minutes in length. In contrast, the diagnosis of plant diseases module consists of a 10-minute lecture and a roughly 13-minute lecture.

Home and Garden Information Center at the University of Maryland

The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) of the University of Maryland Extension offers a collection of PDF documents to those interested in various horticultural topics. Some of the topics include pest control, ornamental landscape plants and problems, lawns, native plants and vegetable and fruit gardening. In total, there are 11 topics on which visitors can read helpful information on a specific aspect of horticulture.

Integrated Pest Management at the University of Connecticut

The free horticulture courses offered through the Integrated Pest Management initiative at the University of Connecticut are offered entirely online and can be completed at a self-paced schedule. No credit is earned from completing these home-study courses. Currently, the Integrated Pest Management initiative offers 13 courses, most of which focus on pest management control and techniques. Some of the classes include turfgrass integrated pest management, managing weeds in the home garden, integrated pest management for ants and termites and pest identification for invasive plant species.

Planning and Preparing Your Garden at BYU

Students who plan to take this free course offered through BYU's Independent Study program must first make sure that they meet the minimum software requirements. This can be simply accomplished by visiting the software setup link on the left-hand side of the course page. Some of the topics covered in this course include soil preparation, gardening strategies and planting for a defined space.

Growing Vegetables, Fruits and Nuts at BYU

Students participating in this course learn about the problems encountered when growing fruits and vegetables. The course also includes information on planting nut trees and on the appropriate tools that should be used for planting and growing. The course is made up of three lessons, and students are encouraged to work on their own gardens while working through the material. No textbook is needed, and only a journal is recommended for each participant to track his or her progress. Unlike many free online courses, this course incorporates a grading system, so that participants can monitor their progress.

Earn Real Credit from Free Courses

While the free courses above don't award credit directly, there are two widely recognized and affordable options for students to gain real college credit.

Option #1: Pass a CLEP Exam

The College Board's 33 CLEP exams allow you to test out of your general education requirements. Credit is accepted at 2/3 of colleges and universities in the U.S.

Option #2: Prepare a Portfolio

LearningCounts.org helps you prepare a portfolio that proves your knowledge. A faculty expert then recommends how much credit should be awarded. The process is call 'prior learning assessment'.

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