Even as states begin to reopen, the coronavirus pandemic has already derailed our traditional summer plans. Around the world, airplanes remain grounded. Festivals, performances, and destination spots will be closed or severely restricted. And though we've hoped the warmer season would suppress the virus, one study found that variations in heat and humidity had little to no effect on its transmission.

Summer has been all but canceled, and as millions of parents are already aware, summer school is in session.

That doesn't have to be a raw deal, though. As we spend more time at home, we can dive into hobbies we love or learn about subjects that prod our curiosity. To help, Ivy League universities are offering hundreds of free MOOCs.

What's in a MOOC?

MOOC is the unfortunate acronym of "massive open online course." I say unfortunate because there's no way to say it aloud without sounding like you're impersonating an old-timey mafioso ("This guy, what a mook!").

Thankfully, the idea is better than the acronym. A MOOC is an online class that explores a specific subject, topic, or skill. Most are self-paced, while some parcel out material over the course of several weeks. Because they're online, they can be open to anyone and support hundreds of students the world over.

That online nature also means teaching methods lean heavily on readings and lecture videos—though some incorporate assessment tools such as quizzes and class discussions. Discussions are with other students on a forum, and quiz grades really don't matter much. Even the most anxious of test-takers needn't fear a "See me after class…" scribbled next to their name.

For instructors, teaching is typically a pre-recorded, hands-off affair. For students, it's self-motivated.

MOOCs are provided on a variety of platforms. One of the most popular is edX, founded by Harvard and MIT, which has more than 20 million users. Other platforms include Udemy, Coursera, Udacity, Skillshare, and FutureLearn.

When choosing a platform, know that some only produce classes guided by university professors or experts in their field, while others open their platform to anyone with a desire to teach.

Education free of charge

Granted, universities have been creating MOOCs for longer than novel coronavirus has been around. edX and Coursera were both introduced in 2012. But in light of the need induced by the pandemic, universities and course providers have stepped up their efforts to issue free, far-reaching education materials.

Class Central, a listing for online courses, maintains a page dedicated to free courses issued in response to COVID-19. Continuously updated, it's a massive resource for those looking to upskill or increase their knowledge while shelter-in-place restrictions remain in effect.

The website maintains a robust catalog of free online classes and the universities offering them, too. As of this writing, it lists more than 400 free online courses from Ivy League universities. Available subjects were as diverse as mythology, Linux basics, data science, religious literacy, Roman architecture, and the ethics of eating. The catalog is simply too expansive to do it justice here.

Because these courses are from Ivy League schools, many are taught by instructors at the top of their field. For example, Harvard professor Stephen Greenblatt teaches the currently available classes on "Othello" and "Hamlet." He's also the general editor to the "Norton Anthology of English Literature."

But how free is free?

Most MOOCs listed on Class Central are free to audit, but they do come with monetary upsells. Users can often earn certificates for completing courses, but the option is tucked behind a paywall. Some courses also limit access to certain materials and content unless unlocked with a credit card.

Users also pay in other, less direct ways. In place of money, edX users pay their tuition in the form of data, the currency of the 21^st century.

The universities use data generated through student participation in research and to improve the quality of their educational endeavors. Collected data is free of personally identifiable information (PII); however, it's worth noting that edX retains the right to share aggregate data with other parties (again, without PII).

Will coronavirus change education?

Summers will return as we remember them, but many experts wonder whether education has been irreversibly changed by the pandemic.

"The horrible loss and fallout of the pandemic are unmistakable, but for so many in education, this is a crisis that simply cannot be wasted. Historically, transformation comes primarily when there are forcing conditions— when the current model simply cannot be sustained," Craig Vezina, executive director of Z-17, wrote.

As schools and parents scramble to teach children spread across towns, and university students increasingly receive their education through screens, online learning will continue to expand its share of educational systems. Whether online learning is better or worse than traditional education is a question with many nuances—one too complex to answer here. Either way, the barriers to online education will continue to become more permeable, allowing more people to access it.