MOOCs - edX, Coursera, iversity

[Hancock]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to open a discussion about MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses. What does everyone think about them? Would you every participate in one?

I'm currently enrolling in:
Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics - MITx
Vehicle Dynamics 1, 2, 3 - Helmut-Schmidt-Universität - Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg

Also, would people pay $100 for a verified certificate? Basically they ensure that you did the course if you have this certificate. I think it's a little steep, but when you compare it to the $1000 per subject at a campus university, it is a little cheaper.

[spectroscopy]

i always want to do it, i do 1 lesson then i forget about it or get over it then after a week or two the urge rekindles and the cycle repeats
i definitely think that for MOOCs - motivation is the biggest hurdle

[e^1]

I did "6.00.1x - Introduction to Computer Science and Programming" from edX several weeks ago. I really liked how there were coding exercises which they could check, and the short videos. I lost motivation when I found out that I entered in the course far late to earn a certificate, but I hope to come back later haha

Currently enrolling in (all from edX, 2014):
UT.5.01x LAFF: Linear Algebra - Foundations to Frontiers
UT.9.01x Effective Thinking Through Mathematics
CS50x Introduction to Computer Science (I might do this so I can get a certificate thing )

[Hancock]

Yeah, I feel like motivation will be a killer, even moreso than normal university classes. However, if I forked out the $100, I'd be more inclined to actually work! I'm only enrolling in some because I'm underloading next year so it'll be interesting to see how the classes go inconjunction with UoM coursework.

[Hancock]

I did "6.00.1x - Introduction to Computer Science and Programming" from edX several weeks ago. I really liked how there were coding exercises which they could check, and the short videos. I lost motivation when I found out that I entered in the course far late to earn a certificate, but I hope to come back later haha

Currently enrolling in (all from edX, 2014):
UT.5.01x LAFF: Linear Algebra - Foundations to Frontiers
UT.9.01x Effective Thinking Through Mathematics
CS50x Introduction to Computer Science (I might do this so I can get a certificate thing )

That's good, if you did CS50, you'd probably smash first year computing subjects. Which uni are you at again?

[e^1]

That's good, if you did CS50, you'd probably smash first year computing subjects. Which uni are you at again?

I just finished year 12 lol. I'm just doing them so I can catch up with my computer skills (which I haven't done in a while).

[spectroscopy]

just something i want to add to people reading this thread - if you find that you arent amazing at a topic, then doing the ocw course from a less elite university might be better for you, this sounds silly but let me explain

i got bored and wanted to do bio 101 for fun. the first unis course i looked at was MIT and then i think berkeley, in both i had no clue what they were talking about, and it was just at a really high pace and expectation, then i saw one from ohio state and im like "may as well try" ; it was so much better explained, super understandable, and just awesome, and at the end of it, you could do the questions set in the MIT course, it was the same level of stuff but explained for a less elite audience

just a thought for people who have felt that open courseware hasnt worked out

[clueless123]

Currently enrolling in (all from edX, 2014):
UT.5.01x LAFF: Linear Algebra - Foundations to Frontiers
UT.9.01x Effective Thinking Through Mathematics
CS50x Introduction to Computer Science (I might do this so I can get a certificate thing )

just enrolled in UT.5.01x  & CS50x cause they look awesome

[slothpomba]

Also, would people pay $100 for a verified certificate? Basically they ensure that you did the course if you have this certificate. I think it's a little steep, but when you compare it to the $1000 per subject at a campus university, it is a little cheaper.

I've seen a lot of discussion about this, it really depends. It can also turn into a bit of an echo chamber since only those who really believe in them or have already bought them will recommend it in the first place. Do you think it'll help paying for the certificate though? Say if its on your resume or something similar?

I can definitely see how motivation would be a killer as well. It's hard enough to do a traditional uni course that can really change the direction of your life let alone something like this. I got excited and signed up to a bunch, haven't touched them since. What websites do you guys use as well? Sometimes its not all that easy to find..

[Hancock]

I'm using:

edx.org - for Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics
iversity.org - for Vehicle Dynamics Stream

To the best of my knowledge, edX and Coursera are the big players and iversity is the new player from EU. I've looked at some Coursera courses but I couldn't find anything that was super interesting.

Look, in terms of chucking this on a resume/linkedin, I think it doesn't really matter if you've bought it or not. I was just considering buying it in case something asks for validation that I've finished the course, or in the event that I could use it to claim credit in the future. I probably won't even claim the credit as I want to take as many courses at UoM as possible!

[spectroscopy]

I got excited and signed up to a bunch, haven't touched them since. What websites do you guys use as well? Sometimes its not all that easy to find..

know that feel

but if you have an apple product (im sure there are equivalents for android) iTunes U is absolutely awesome !
also Udacity has some good courses too !!
but it depends on the course and college etc. there are good edX ones and shit ones, same for coursera or anything really, just gotta find the good ones, edx is the place to start though

[drmockingbird]

I once did a MOOC Course on Behavioural Economics on Coursera.

It was really really interesting and I got a certificate out of it, but I don't know if I can muster up the motivation and time to do another one (although I've signed up to heaps and get reminder emails everyday -.-)

[alchemy]

I did an Introductory Chemistry course on Coursera last year. It was set equivalently to a first year uni syllabus.
At the time, I didn't understand too much. But looking back at it, I realize all the relevant content it shared with the 1/2 VCE chem course. If anything, it gave me a good intuition at least.