Posted: 25th February 2013 20:00
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It's still a pretty new thing, so I'm wondering if any of you lot have heard of or tried Coursera? It's a new sort of online university, in which dozens of universities from around the world offer up one or more of their classes for free online. Some of the classes are condensed in the way a summer class would be, while others are just abbreviated, so that most of the courses are complete in a six to ten week span.
The majority of the courses are no good for university credit (at least not yet!), but the quality of the courses is high, as it would have to be for the universities to go along with the plan. Obviously, a highly-regarded university won't be willing to have their name on a class if it's garbage, so the classes are, in theory, pretty solid. They now have courses in 21 disciplines from about sixty schools, including my dear alma mater. I completed last November my first course in user experience design (offered by Stanford), and I will be starting in a few weeks a new course in Gamification from the University of Pennsylvania (and, in the summer, I'm planning on taking one covering the underground economy of malware). It's been cool to be taking real courses again after over a decade out of school, and that's why I'm posting this. There're a lot of classes that are low level, survey-type courses, and some of them are interesting tech courses. So, if you're one of those folks who have ever asked about things like programming or general Comp Sci around CoN, try checking it out sometime. ... This thread kind of sounds like the nerdiest spambot we've ever had. Way to go, me. -------------------- "To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN? |
Post #202583
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Posted: 26th February 2013 08:00
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Post #202586
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Posted: 26th February 2013 18:29
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I thought this was a spam thread until I realized that the last action was by Rangers51 and there were zero replies. Then I became confused, and clicked the thread.
-------------------- Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing. You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey ) |
Post #202591
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Posted: 26th February 2013 18:33
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![]() Posts: 34 Joined: 13/2/2009 Awards: ![]() ![]() |
Huh. This sounds pretty cool! Anytime you can get some quality education for free is a good thing. I might have to look into this more.
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Post #202593
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Posted: 26th February 2013 18:39
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Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 26th February 2013 13:29) I thought this was a spam thread until I realized that the last action was by Rangers51 and there were zero replies. Then I became confused, and clicked the thread. And of course, your reply pushed it a little closer to being a spam thread. ![]() Now, to be not spammy myself! Thinking about what I posted yesterday, I decided earlier today to look for a few classes that might fit for what I said about people who ever asked about CS or web development. I didn't check start dates, so some of these might not be currently scheduled.
This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 26th February 2013 18:39 -------------------- "To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN? |
Post #202594
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Posted: 27th February 2013 16:43
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Well, I'm signed up for the Python course now in order to supplement the codecademy course I'm already taking. Should be fun!
-------------------- Hey, put the cellphone down for a while In the night there is something wild Can you hear it breathing? And hey, put the laptop down for a while In the night there is something wild I feel it, it's leaving me |
Post #202605
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Posted: 5th March 2013 21:09
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I hadn't heard of this, but one thing I had heard of that appears to be somewhat similar is Open Yale Courses.
http://oyc.yale.edu/ The readings / assignments are posted, and you can simply listen to the lectures on the site. I did the one on Literary Theory this summer, and it was quite well done. Of course, it's Yale after all, so I imagine all of them are fairly solid. -------------------- Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen! |
Post #202648
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Posted: 3rd April 2013 14:08
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So, apparently, Coursera has now offered a "VERIFIED" certificate track. You still don't get credit hours, but you can give them money and they'll verify that what you talk about getting, you actually got.
That makes me roll my eyes a little, but as long as they get the revenue stream from SOMEONE, that's good enough for me. -------------------- "To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN? |
Post #203005
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Posted: 11th September 2013 17:13
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![]() Posts: 653 Joined: 23/12/2010 Awards: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Just read this. Wow. I've always had a background desire to increase my tech knowhow; maybe something like programming. This seems perfect, cheers.
-------------------- www.youtube.com/blinje The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens |
Post #204456
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Posted: 21st May 2014 19:42
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I just got an email advertising some upcoming classes, and this one looked potentially interesting: https://www.coursera.org/course/digitalmedia - if someone else might be interested in taking it, let me know. I think I work harder knowing that I have an actual connection outside the class to the class.
-------------------- "To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN? |
Post #206808
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Posted: 26th October 2014 13:19
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![]() Posts: 1,394 Joined: 13/3/2004 Awards: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Great to see this thread! My girl introduced me, she took a Python coding course there. I'm taking classes now as well. Dinosaur Paleobiology and Terrorism/Counter-Terrorism, which starts in a few weeks.
I'm following the classes for fun, so a few aspects like course credits don't matter to me personally. But the whole thing is user-friendly, easy to start and an excellent way of being guided somewhat in a learning process. The digital media thing is not for me, but good luck. -------------------- |
Post #207593
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