[jamses]

I found early-on that MOOCs were terrible for learning because of the barriers they put up. Locked-in time schedules, a trend towards very short "bitty" and simplistic videos that don't tend to offer any direction when they're done.

Youtube lectures on the other hand have been immensely valuable, especially if you can find a relevant (university) reading list and/or problem sets if they're applicable. All you really need as a self-learner is someone to say "head in this direction". After that I agree with op that finding something fun to do is the best way to learn.

On an aside, as a text highlighter (I highlight the text I'm reading), the javascript "tweet this" pop-up on this site is horrific.