BDC2823
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What are your opinions on these?
If you don't know what they are, they're rather interesting. I've been on Coursera for about a year or so. Basically, they are free online college courses. You sign up, take a course on whatever you want from stupid crap to high end mathematics/quantum physics/whatever. Initially, I thought it was kinda dumb and would be watered down crap. But since I've taken a few courses, I can say that it's quite the opposite. Basically, universities have signed up and offer online courses for anyone to take. One course I took had over 100,000 people signed up. It depends on the professor, but there are weekly quizzes and/or exams that are graded (MC) and if you score a passing grade you get a certificate. You can decide if that means anything. But from my experiences, this is what I've figured out:
If you want to actually take the course and get a certificate the classes aren't just a cakewalk. The schools involved aren't some crap no name schools. The courses are taught by professors at schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Wharton, Stanford, etc. So the schools and professors have a reputation to uphold. There are a few courses that have already been accredited universally so if you're a college student, you can pass the course and those credits apply towards your degree wherever you're at. I've done 3 courses and am taking a class from Wharton right now. The classes I took:
Think Again: How to Reason and Argue - Duke University - I thought this was going to be just some simple course that I may learn a few things pertaining to debating a position. Boy was I wrong. I spent hours each week watching the lectures and dissecting every single word, premise, and conclusion pertaining to the most basic to complex of arguments. It was not what I expected. Very in depth analysis. If I were to compare it to classes I took in college, it'd be one of the more difficult and time consuming classes.
Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning - UC Irvine - I'm probably not the best person to evaluate this class as my degree is in Finance. But I wanted to take it anyways because I didn't have the opportunity to take a personal finance class. I'd also spent years researching this myself so I had a clear advantage and understanding. I didn't really learn much from it, but I also went to school for this so it is to be expected being a basic course. For those without my background there probably was something to learn, but I do think it could have been more in depth. A decent intro course, but not challenging.
Game Theory - Stanford - Tough as ****. Not easy by any means. Hours of study each week to run mathematical models to understand the information. I found it very amusing, but not a course someone could breeze through and gain something from. A large time commitment and thorough analysis is needed. Very difficult.
Overall perception: I initially thought these classes would be basic classes that just cover overviews of the issue at hand. Basically 101 classes but even less in depth. I was wrong. With so many people taking them, they can't incorporate case analysis and other methods so from that standpoint, you can't get what you'd get in a real college environment. Everything has to be MC exams for obvious reasons. But as far as the classes are concerned, they were on par with what I took in college. I spent more time on certain classes than I did on certain classes in college. I got proved wrong. They're pretty legit. From what I can tell, these classes are pretty much on par with what you would expect taking them at their respective colleges. it makes sense though, since the Universities and professors are putting their reputations on the line.
I love it as I can take classes on stuff I didn't have the opportunity to take in college, and can take refresher courses if need be at my leisure.
Has anyone taken any of these classes and what do you think?
All in all, I think it's a winning proposition and it looks like universities think the same way judging by how many of the top universities are signing up and offering classes.
If you don't know what they are, they're rather interesting. I've been on Coursera for about a year or so. Basically, they are free online college courses. You sign up, take a course on whatever you want from stupid crap to high end mathematics/quantum physics/whatever. Initially, I thought it was kinda dumb and would be watered down crap. But since I've taken a few courses, I can say that it's quite the opposite. Basically, universities have signed up and offer online courses for anyone to take. One course I took had over 100,000 people signed up. It depends on the professor, but there are weekly quizzes and/or exams that are graded (MC) and if you score a passing grade you get a certificate. You can decide if that means anything. But from my experiences, this is what I've figured out:
If you want to actually take the course and get a certificate the classes aren't just a cakewalk. The schools involved aren't some crap no name schools. The courses are taught by professors at schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Wharton, Stanford, etc. So the schools and professors have a reputation to uphold. There are a few courses that have already been accredited universally so if you're a college student, you can pass the course and those credits apply towards your degree wherever you're at. I've done 3 courses and am taking a class from Wharton right now. The classes I took:
Think Again: How to Reason and Argue - Duke University - I thought this was going to be just some simple course that I may learn a few things pertaining to debating a position. Boy was I wrong. I spent hours each week watching the lectures and dissecting every single word, premise, and conclusion pertaining to the most basic to complex of arguments. It was not what I expected. Very in depth analysis. If I were to compare it to classes I took in college, it'd be one of the more difficult and time consuming classes.
Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning - UC Irvine - I'm probably not the best person to evaluate this class as my degree is in Finance. But I wanted to take it anyways because I didn't have the opportunity to take a personal finance class. I'd also spent years researching this myself so I had a clear advantage and understanding. I didn't really learn much from it, but I also went to school for this so it is to be expected being a basic course. For those without my background there probably was something to learn, but I do think it could have been more in depth. A decent intro course, but not challenging.
Game Theory - Stanford - Tough as ****. Not easy by any means. Hours of study each week to run mathematical models to understand the information. I found it very amusing, but not a course someone could breeze through and gain something from. A large time commitment and thorough analysis is needed. Very difficult.
Overall perception: I initially thought these classes would be basic classes that just cover overviews of the issue at hand. Basically 101 classes but even less in depth. I was wrong. With so many people taking them, they can't incorporate case analysis and other methods so from that standpoint, you can't get what you'd get in a real college environment. Everything has to be MC exams for obvious reasons. But as far as the classes are concerned, they were on par with what I took in college. I spent more time on certain classes than I did on certain classes in college. I got proved wrong. They're pretty legit. From what I can tell, these classes are pretty much on par with what you would expect taking them at their respective colleges. it makes sense though, since the Universities and professors are putting their reputations on the line.
I love it as I can take classes on stuff I didn't have the opportunity to take in college, and can take refresher courses if need be at my leisure.
Has anyone taken any of these classes and what do you think?
All in all, I think it's a winning proposition and it looks like universities think the same way judging by how many of the top universities are signing up and offering classes.