A new world of opportunity is opening up to students who previously may have missed out on a shot at higher education.
Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, make it possible for students to take part in classes via the internet.
As we discover in this edition of Learning World, they are creating something of a revolution in teaching and studying.
Anchor Maha Barada presents three cases of the impact MOOCs are having.
In the first we travel to China to see how online classes offer a new portal into the country's elite universities.
In the past students had to pass gruelling entrance exams and overcome enormous logistical problems to get into these venerable establishments.
Our second story takes us to Kenya where we follow a group of young would-be entrepreneurs taking advantage of an ambitious pan-African MOOC initiative.
And finally Maha talks to ‘futurist’ John Mahaffie, (a futurist is a social scientist who predicts trends and developments in society). He explains the value and huge growth potential of this education phenomenon.
Have you ever taken an online course? Let us know via our social media pages.
For more on the China aspect of this story go here
BONUS: Making more out of MOOCs, an interview with John Mahaffie