This summer, you can learn Linux free & online from Harvard & MIT

Want to learn Linux? The Linux Foundation announced today that it will be offering its $2,400 “Introduction to Linux” course for free through edX, the Harvard/MIT online learning platform that supports massive enrollment.

“EdX is a natural partner,” Linux Foundation vice president Amanda McPherson told VentureBeat, “because it, too, is non-profit and based on open source software.”

The Foundation’s course, scheduled for sometime this summer, is intended for anyone interested in learning the open source OS, even if they have no previous experience in the subject. McPherson told us that additional edX courses from the Linux Foundation will depend on “how ‘Intro to Linux’ is received.”

The Foundation also announced a new, paid Authorized Training Partner program, with Authorized Instructors. AT Computing, Enea, OlinData, and SolutionWare are the first training providers.

Linux is hot as a job skill. The Foundation’s 2014 Linux Jobs Report found that 90 percent of hiring managers are looking to hire Linux professionals in the next half-year. But demand is greater than supply.

Launched in 2012, edX offers 150 massive open online courses, or MOOCs, delivered from more than 30 universities to almost two million people. Some of the MOOC classes have upwards of 60,000 students each. MOOCs, which can lead to college degrees and technical certificates, can become key stepping stones toward technical careers.

The Linux Foundation course is part of a new initiative by edX to begin offering courses from non-academic institutions.

A new membership structure was also announced today to “enable additional universities and colleges, foundations, and other global organizations to join the edX community.”

In addition to the Linux Foundation and several new educational members, including Colgate University, new edX members include the International Monetary Fund, Warren Buffett’s family foundation, and the Smithsonian. The Inter-American Development Bank said today it will become the first organization focused on Latin America and the Caribbean to use edX.