Jerry Cooperstein gives an "Intro to Linux" course on edX
edx.org
edx.org
While that's a tiny fraction of what one could expect to pay for a typical certification prep class and likely less than a single credit hour at an accredited university it's quite high relative to the norm on edX.
I've taken some very good courses on edX, primarily from MIT and Berkley, none of which have required even half as much as a minimum.
Still, I intend to give this a look when it launches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmDricQGK6w
Good to attend courses with lectures given by creators themselves and great teachers.
Whatever the relationship between GNU and Linux nowadays and despite the examples of GNU without Linux and Linux without GNU, for many years in the beginning they were inextricably tied together and would have never succeeded without the other. To say that Linux is by Linus and nobody but Linus is not fair to all the work that Linus based Linux on top of.
We will probably arrive at a consensus about what to call Linux + GNU + everything else around the same time we agree what line endings should look like in text files.
I'd say that depends on what you want to get out of it.
I have a couple of verified certificates. I haven't had the chance to put them on a resume yet, but I fully intend to for a number of reasons. I'm already pretty well established in my career, I believe in what these programs are doing and I'm plainly proud of my accomplishment.
That said, I expect people will look at them the same way they do technology certifications or most degrees - worthless.
I understand where they're coming from as we've all encountered incompetent people with such credentials, but I think it's a bit unfair to toss these certificates in the same bin.
Reason being, these certificates have no established value.
Logically and anecdotally, people sign up for these courses because they want to learn something. If someones goal is scamming their way into a job they'd be better served by shopping at a diploma mill than slogging through an edX course.
It's an interesting problem.
How do you popularize these courses while establishing and retaining value for them - goals which are to some degree at odds with each other.
+ Gaining additional motivation.
+ Someone requiring it.
+ Adding formal credentials to a CV.
+ Supporting the institution, because you can.
+ Confirming the accomplishment.
All are valid reasons, and in a particular person's unique circumstances each may have great value. There's no universal benefits or detriments.
I'm going to try and get my employer to pay for it either way.