Stanford put 10 of its most popular computer science and electrical engineering courses online for free a month ago, prompting 200,000 people around the world to log on and download the materials.
The courses include videos of lectures plus downloads of full course materials, including handouts, homework and exams.
No course credit is given, but people have been downloading the offerings through Stanford Engineering Everywhere, YouTube, iTunes and BitTorrent.
People from Canada top the list of hits from foreign countries, followed by Brazil, China, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Gauging the number of students is difficult, Stanford officials say, because the course materials may be downloaded in one visit, while others may revisit the courses.
The courses also encourage online study groups through Facebook and other social sites.
Stanford’s School of Engineering is also encouraging faculty at other universities to use the materials, if they wish.
The materials might be translated after being downloaded. “You might have someone in China translate it,” Andy DiPaolo, executive director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development, said. “We’d be happy for them to do that.”
The students using the course materials include professionals updating their knowledge to teenagers getting a taste of Stanford academics.
There have been thank-you e-mails, too, DiPaolo said. One person thanked Stanford profusely and then added, “You just saved me like 20,000 dollars.”
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