f13.net forums - The MOOC (massive-open-online-course) Thread

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April 20, 2024, 12:53:52 AM

we're back, baby

Sooo, it's been a year since my original post on EdX and things have exponentially changed in this particular space of the interwebs. EdX has gotten slicker and grown to offer more courses while newer kids on the block have as well. Of note, Coursera and Udacity. Both of which have grown huge, especially the former (to the point they now monetize an optional identity secured certificate). All of these systems are fully social now as well with IRL 'meetups' and discussion groups.

Since the Winter/Spring 'semester' is starting let this thread serve as a reminder to sign up for stuff. I still most highly recommend EdX since their system is definitely the most robust, structured, and serious (of note a really cool Harvard ethics class was just added - "Justice"). But if you cant find what you need there then definitely try Udacity (strongest in comp. sci and most gentle UI) and Coursera (most course offerings by far). I'll be retrying EdX Electronics when it starts (I got sidetracked from work), while brushing up on calc and diffEq. Programming-wise there's a shitton, so throwing a wide net there. Science-wise I'll be doing 'Tissue Engineering' and 'Computational Neuroscience.' There's are a few Engineering courses up on Coursera now as well (engineering mechanics and electrical).

There are whispers that some of these affiliated Universities may start monetizing an actual online diploma once they've got enough data to go by. I anticipate this happening within the next few years. Essentially you'll be able to 'add to cart' a diploma from MIT if you've got enough MOOC credits from a certified 3rd party platform. awesome, for real

Please don't shit up this thread with thy elitist "well duh, you can get this shit anywhere these days." Really captain obvious? The point is these are for real, tracked, and semi-certified systems for learning. And they're free, very accessible, and comfortable to use. You'd need closed corporate training platforms to come anywhere close; and those aren't free nor accessible to those 'normal folk' who cant be arsed to dig up courseware hit or miss in piecemeal fashion.

So go learn some shit lazy bastards.

edx.org
udacity.com
coursera.org

Oh, saylor.org used to be a great place to get free textbooks online, but they've recently switched over to a MOOC setup as well, utilizing the same original textbooks. It's definitely slick and more organized, but difficult to find the exact textbook you need without sifting through course readings. I've met the guy who started that site, a moneyhat who paid the authors for their backdated editions to be released 'creative commons.' Then they were scanned into the system. Pretty slick, but my eyes bleed reading endless .pdfs. Great as a supplementary to the above though. Anyone know a better place to get free textbooks lemme know.

If you are looking for something a bit more formal and with the option of working toward a degree I can't recommend the open university enough.

It isn't free, but it is affordable, and in my experience (I did a BSc Mathematics a few years ago) the quality of learning materials and tutor support is far better than anything I ever had at 'normal' university.

www.open.ac.uk

Thanks for the reminder on OpenU. I hadn't visited that site for a while. Definitely one of the best if you want a qualification (pricey though), but I wish they had more support in the US. Evidently some institutions over here are already using O.U. though, just tough to find em. And again, pricey especially since it's 3rd party. I just checked San Diego state and they're charging $250/credit. Not bad, about half a normal overpriced private education but 4-times courses at the community level (at least in my state). Hell, IRL courses at UF are $100/credit hour. And just checked, OU raised their prices to around 5000 pounds per year! Yah, so "get shagged" with that price. Not payin it.

Eldaec, when did you last take an OU class? Because I guess the recent politics over there really jacked up the pricing. Hell, I cant even really find pricing on the OU site.

Holy crap.

I finished in 2005, back then the equivalent of a full university year would be about £800.

If you already had a degree you could effectively skip year 1 and pick up an additional bachelor's degree for £1600.

As you mention, they've been shafted by the change in the fees system.

If you have an address in Scotland you can still have Holyrood pick up the tab and reduce fees down below what I paid.

If English you can use the same system that operates for other universities and end up paying less based on earnings, but for second and subsequent degrees they simply tell you to fuck off.

Well that sucks.

And so it begins. The very 1st MOOC with college credits attached (if u dont count stuff like OpenU). Nice accomplishment over at Udacity.
http://www.sjsu.edu/plus/

Note, these are pretty much NSF audited 'pilot' programs to test viabiilty, but as I stated in the OP you simply pay a small fee (less than an in-state/credithr fee) to gain the credits - about $150/class. Otherwise the course is the same save for much more hands-on interaction with the professors during and after. Those credits will then easily transfer to whichever University (since they're fairly 'remedial' courses anyways).

I will say at this low a level it's sometimes smarter to take a normal MOOC and then CLEP (place out) of a course at whatever college you want (like I will be doing with pre-Calc... again, through Coursera and intro. to Comp. Sci if I can find a school that CLEPS Python). The only disadvantage being you dont get to carry the grade with you, though you indeed get the credits, and you dont have as much oversight. CLEP fees are usually around 1 credit hr I believe (eh... $80?), so cheaper by a bit. There is also 'experiential' credit to be gained through MOOCs but you have to go direct to college professors and they essentially have to test you heavily and sign off on it - pita, especially if you need a Lab. I may take this tact for a Physics class that isnt CLEPable.

Anyways, if you need any of these classes (alg and sta seem the most useful) this is a nice chance to get some really cheap college credits done in a format that's typically better than you'd see in a normal shitty comm. college class regardless, done with world-class Professors. (note, it's SJSU but Stanford people are there also) You'll also get to be at the forefront of something new being it's a pilot program and you'll likely get way better interaction.

“What do we say to the God of death?” – Syrio Forel
“Not today.” – Arya Stark

Resurrecting MOOC thread to spur discussion. I really like the looks of Udacity and their Nanodegrees. Anyone have any opinions or recommendations regarding today's MOOC offerings?

I've been using Khan Academy to brush up on Pre-Calc, since I'm considering an masters in Econ. (An MA not an MS).
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/precalculus

I like their "gamefication" of it, makes for quick work if you know what is going on with plenty of practice if you don't - with a good incentive to get it right the first time.

Quote from: Viin on February 22, 2016, 05:05:10 PM

We've been using it to supplement my kid's education for a few years now. This is the first year the teachers asked us directly to start using it, so I think its edging closer to full adoption. They've really got the learning down, if you spend ~20min per day it's great.

MOOCs are a fantastic replacement for adult extension courses, for stuff like the Teaching Company (the guys who sold tapes with lectures on them), etc.

They have since 2013 been pretty overwhelmingly demonstrated not to be a replacement for core learning at the undergraduate level. They're for enrichment, for extension, for practice, for review.

Been teaching myself Python through Edx for shits and giggles. Not bad, but it's definitely lacking the prof/student/classroom interaction part. As a comparison I took a Java course as well and it's shit.

I'm enrolled in the Watts Atelier's online curriculum to supplement my training at art school.

http://www.wattsatelier.com/online/

Slightly related to this topic. If I want to teach myself say, java, where would I best begin?

Quote from: lamaros on February 26, 2016, 05:05:06 AM

Slightly related to this topic. If I want to teach myself say, java, where would I best begin?

I've had a lot of success introducing high-school students to Java and Python using this site:

www.codingbat.com

It forces you to immediately begin writing in the languages syntax, and has solutions and online help text to go along with each practice exercise which introduces each concept.

Cheers, I had a poke around with codeacademy last night and will check that out today.

Quote from: lamaros on February 26, 2016, 05:05:06 AM

Slightly related to this topic. If I want to teach myself say, java, where would I best begin?

I can't help directly, sorry, but I do think it's worth discussing. The correct answer is "it depends". How much programming do you already know? Are you fluent in two or more other languages with a few (+) years of experience writing real code solving real-world problems or is this the first time you've touched a computer with the intent of programming it to do something? Where you are on that continuum will have a large impact on what the correct answer is. If you are way over on the first side with lots of experience, you already know all you need is a good reference for the language (manual, book, wiki or whatever) and a problem to try to solve with it. If you are way over in the second case, you need more than just language, you need to acquire some understandings of fundamentals, and some basic theory wouldn't hurt, neither of which seem to be taught very well even in university degree programs from what I have seen, unfortunately.

Last time I did any programming was over 10 years ago (as part of a multimedia systems course I quickly dropped) in java. So much more in the second than the first.