Online classes and lectures have existed for years - but taking an online class is often about as exciting as watching grass grow. Content can be dry and boring - and even videos from the best institutions lack production quality. Classes taught in a classroom environment rarely translate to compelling online videos; the professor often appears far off in the distance, the audio and video quality are poor and there is no opportunity for interaction. As a result, only the most committed students have the discipline to pursue the online coursework.

This year, however, has been pivotal for online education. Dramatic improvements in production techniques, content that is specifically tailored to the online medium and interactive systems have started a veritable revolution.

The real pioneer in online learning was the Khan Academy (http://khanacademy.org). Started by Sal Khan to tutor his niece and nephews in Algebra, Khan Academy now covers dozens of subjects like Physics, Biology, Economics and even Art History. Khan’s success is in great part thanks to his delivery. The informal style and short format of the 3,200 videos make learning both fun and accessible.

Earlier this year another big university came online, Udacity (http://udacity.com), which was focused on teaching Computer Science. Started by professors from Stanford and some of the brightest minds at Google, Udacity brings decades of teaching experience and incredible talent to the table.

One way in which Udacity has differentiated itself is with its hands-on approach to learning. As any experienced developer will tell you, the best way to learn programming is to do it. Reading books and listening to lectures may help you understand the theory - but only by applying those techniques and experiencing the cycle of designing, writing and debugging software can you truly learn the trade. Udacity realized this early on, and designed their courses to put your knowledge to the test - challenging you to write programs that exercise your knowledge. This approach, coupled with immediate feedback from their automated grading systems makes learning computer science online superior to any physical classroom.

Taken together these two websites offer unprecedented resources for those who want to learn new skills.

The revolution currently taking place in education is a bit like the one that took place with the invention of the motion picture. Before film, we were all dependent on local playhouses and theaters for our entertainment. If your local actors weren’t very good, you just had to suffer through it and your entertainment was doomed to be subpar. But with the advent of film, we were able to watch the best actors in the world put on a show for us, no matter where we were. We could watch those performances at any time, rewind them to see our favorite parts again and again, and view them from virtually anywhere.

The same was largely true for education. The quality of your education was largely based on the quality of your teachers. This was great for the few who could afford to go to prestigious universities, but not so great for the rest of us.

Now anybody can go online and be taught mathematics or programming by the best teachers in the world, using online video lectures which you can watch at your convenience. And those lectures can be improved year over year based on student feedback.

It isn’t hard to see how such a change benefits the students of Rwanda. As the affordability and speed of Internet access continues to improve, so does the availability of this material. And since it is all free, students in Rwanda now have access to the same outstanding education that the rest of the world enjoys.

Of course having great lectures and exercises is only part of the solution, you still need someone to ask questions to when you get stuck and it helps to have a community of people learning with you. And that’s where the kLab comes in.

If you want to learn how to program, take CS101 at Udacity.com. It doesn’t require any prior knowledge, yet in six weeks it will teach you how Google searches the web. You’ll study some of the basic fundamentals of computer science, and establish an important foundation for your future career.

Like any college course it will require a lot of hard work and dedication, but the material is world-class and taught incredibly well. The kLab can help you download the videos for the course so you can watch them offline, and whenever you get stuck, kLab members and mentors are always available to help.

Programming isn’t easy, it takes a real passion to get good at it, but we are at a unique point in history where those with that passion have everything they need to succeed. When that passion is paired with the kLab and the resources it offers, anyone can get a world-class education at their own pace, around their own schedule and all absolutely free. Now that is truly revolutionary.