5 ms·

My problem with online courses boils down to the "sticking around issue", as I like to call it. You start, you get mildly bored, most of the time you're too dra

My problem with online courses boils down to the "sticking around issue", as I like to call it. You start, you get mildly bored, most of the time you're too drained by work to really feel like you're learning.... aaand you drop it. What's your solution to that? Enrolling into paid courses only? Approaching courses with a different mindset altogether?

ericdykstra 10y ago
A lot of things can be done, actually! First, figure out if you really want to take the course. Why are you taking it? Does taking the course align with the goals most important to your life right now? If not, then this resistance is just your minds' way of telling you not to waste energy on something not that important to you. If it is something that will help you achieve one of your most precious goals, then think about why you have that goal. Then when it's time to watch the next video, or do the next piece of homework, think of that reason. If you're mildly bored and don't have a compelling reason to keep going, you'll lose focus quickly. If you have that "why," you have a reason to keep making progress even if you're bored or tired. A support group or even just an individual can also help. Get someone to take the course along with you, and there will be tons of benefits. You'll see that it's possible, you won't want to fall behind on conversations with your friend, and you will enjoy it more. Failing that, at the very least have an accountability partner who can help remind you of why you have this goal, and check up on you. Having someone call you up and ask "did you finish lesson 3 this week like you said you would?" can be a great motivator. Those are all short-term tips. If you want information on how to increase your willpower overall, I recommend reading Kelly McGonigal's The Willpower Instinct, a very action-oriented scientific look at willpower.
rectang 10y ago
Find one or more people who will take the course along with you and commit to meeting regularly to discuss the class materials. By introducing deadlines and social pressure, it helps to get past the motivation issues. I wonder when MOOC providers will start providing "study halls" using WebRTC video...
garysieling 10y ago
I watch standalone lectures, because there's no commitment to keep going. You trade a wider variety of content with less depth in one area.
- yodsanklai 10y ago
  My experience is that I don't remember much if I don't commit to the course (and actually, even then I don't remember as much as I'd like!). It really pays off to do the assignments and to pace of the course. In my opinion, the challenges of self-teaching are to be able to study regularly over a longer period of time, and not only read/watch things but do exercises. Those things are enforced at school, but can be difficult to reproduce in a less constrained setting. For that, the MOOC are quite useful. My only grief is that I usually don't like the videos. I'd be happier with a book.
  - garysieling 10y ago
    Yeah, I think that if I were trying to learn a new skill, exercises/books are definitely better. I'm usually listening to things while cleaning, driving, etc, for entertainment rather than maximizing learning. My experience has been that if someone introduces a really novel concept or historical fact in a talk, it will sink in and stick with me for a long time. I've found a lot of fantastic material in this university's lectures- http://www.gresham.ac.uk/ http://www.gresham.ac.uk/ I'm working on a search engine to curate a wider range of these, although it's still very much a work in progress- https://www.findlectures.com/ https://www.findlectures.com/
    - NhanH 10y ago
      That's amazing. There seems to be a bug with the filter on the left side: after you select one and the page reload, subsequent attempts to filter won't work. I actually have been working on a similar kind of search engine, albeit being a more "proper" search engine + crawler combination rather than curation likes yours. It's great to see other works like yours for inspiration :-).
tomjen3 10y ago
I had that exact problem with a statistic course on udacity. What I ended up doing was committing to spending a certain amount of time (about 2/hr/week) on that course, then made a beeminder goal to charge my credit card if I failed. It worked in that I stuck with it, but the amount of time I spend on the original course didn't divide by two hours so I did also spend a little bit of time on another course. /at this point I should clarify I am an unpaid shill for beeminder, not a paid one.
Chathamization 10y ago
I'd like to see study communities built around topics and not specific courses. One of the best ways to stick with something is to have a groups of friends doing it as well (think of gym buddies). The problem with many MOOCs is that the community is only connected to the particular course (even a new version of the same course will have a separate forum), and if you fall behind a bit you end up being on your own (and then many people lose motivation and stop).
notgood 10y ago
This is the main enemy of online courses, its not the competition, its the the lack of compromise from the user in part because everything is "virtual" and you don't feel any major regret for dropping out. Coursera and all the others should focus on this part of the problem, not by asking for more money, that will just make them less likely to try again. Maybe calling the student after a few weeks of inactivity could be one way to help, another one may be to create and maintain local study groups (having free food is always a good incentive), another one is to be "paired" with another online student so you feel a little social pressure.
- my_username_is_ 10y ago
  >another one is to be "paired" with another online student so you feel a little social pressure. This is the biggest difference for me between courses that I have started and courses that I have finished. Meeting with someone in real life, even if it's just for an hour a week, easily creates the pressure to continue on that an email reminder simply doesn't do.
arrmn 10y ago
I've currently finished Andrew Ng's course on machine learning, this worked for me: 1. Set a clear goal, e.g "By the end of September I want to work through the course solve all the exercises". 2. Tell another friend what I'm doing and make a bet, every time I don't finish the weeks assignments in time I'll pay 50€. 3. Plan the evening before at what time I'm going to sit down and do this course.
utefan001 10y ago
Working on my startup, I have thought a lot about this. Would the following be useful to anyone? -create a linode, AWS or DO instance. - Have trusted friend config wireless router to use new instance IP for DNS. - Run modified nodejs dnsjack on new instance. - Add my SmartMadre traffic control code to instance. Config oAuth or our APIanySite - Now, code will cut off non allowed sites after X mins. SmartMadre code requires some amount of measurable progress to allow full internet back - give trusted friend control of instance. You and friend could get email showing amount of daily progress. - Suggestions welcome!
- Kenji 10y ago
  The problem then becomes that you get bored halfway through setting this up ;) But you raise an important point. Doing it with a friend. It helps so much because you motivate eachother and there's also a bit of friendly competition and raising eachother's bar.
white-flame 10y ago
A big problem lies from the MOOC end, not the student end, in unnecessarily enforcing a schedule and penalizing those who fall behind. That's a huge detractor to catching up and finishing the course when "life happens". If I could resume at my own pace, I'd have finished courses that I gave up on.
- solarengineer 10y ago
  +1. I have found myself completing courses when I can choose my pace. There are times when I am done with project work, and I merrily chomp through a course or some difficult task during the weekend. I wonder if this schedule is a carry over from how college courses are run. Perhaps there are those who need the discipline of a schedule. It'd have been nice to have a choice between a schedule as well as an "at your pace".

ericdykstra 10y ago

A lot of things can be done, actually! First, figure out if you really want to take the course. Why are you taking it? Does taking the course align with the goals most important to your life right now? If not, then this resistance is just your minds' way of telling you not to waste energy on something not that important to you. If it is something that will help you achieve one of your most precious goals, then think about why you have that goal. Then when it's time to watch the next video, or do the next piece of homework, think of that reason. If you're mildly bored and don't have a compelling reason to keep going, you'll lose focus quickly. If you have that "why," you have a reason to keep making progress even if you're bored or tired. A support group or even just an individual can also help. Get someone to take the course along with you, and there will be tons of benefits. You'll see that it's possible, you won't want to fall behind on conversations with your friend, and you will enjoy it more. Failing that, at the very least have an accountability partner who can help remind you of why you have this goal, and check up on you. Having someone call you up and ask "did you finish lesson 3 this week like you said you would?" can be a great motivator. Those are all short-term tips. If you want information on how to increase your willpower overall, I recommend reading Kelly McGonigal's The Willpower Instinct, a very action-oriented scientific look at willpower.

rectang 10y ago

Find one or more people who will take the course along with you and commit to meeting regularly to discuss the class materials. By introducing deadlines and social pressure, it helps to get past the motivation issues. I wonder when MOOC providers will start providing "study halls" using WebRTC video...

garysieling 10y ago

I watch standalone lectures, because there's no commitment to keep going. You trade a wider variety of content with less depth in one area.

yodsanklai 10y ago
My experience is that I don't remember much if I don't commit to the course (and actually, even then I don't remember as much as I'd like!). It really pays off to do the assignments and to pace of the course. In my opinion, the challenges of self-teaching are to be able to study regularly over a longer period of time, and not only read/watch things but do exercises. Those things are enforced at school, but can be difficult to reproduce in a less constrained setting. For that, the MOOC are quite useful. My only grief is that I usually don't like the videos. I'd be happier with a book.
- garysieling 10y ago
  Yeah, I think that if I were trying to learn a new skill, exercises/books are definitely better. I'm usually listening to things while cleaning, driving, etc, for entertainment rather than maximizing learning. My experience has been that if someone introduces a really novel concept or historical fact in a talk, it will sink in and stick with me for a long time. I've found a lot of fantastic material in this university's lectures- http://www.gresham.ac.uk/ http://www.gresham.ac.uk/ I'm working on a search engine to curate a wider range of these, although it's still very much a work in progress- https://www.findlectures.com/ https://www.findlectures.com/
  - NhanH 10y ago
    That's amazing. There seems to be a bug with the filter on the left side: after you select one and the page reload, subsequent attempts to filter won't work. I actually have been working on a similar kind of search engine, albeit being a more "proper" search engine + crawler combination rather than curation likes yours. It's great to see other works like yours for inspiration :-).

tomjen3 10y ago

I had that exact problem with a statistic course on udacity. What I ended up doing was committing to spending a certain amount of time (about 2/hr/week) on that course, then made a beeminder goal to charge my credit card if I failed. It worked in that I stuck with it, but the amount of time I spend on the original course didn't divide by two hours so I did also spend a little bit of time on another course. /at this point I should clarify I am an unpaid shill for beeminder, not a paid one.

Chathamization 10y ago

I'd like to see study communities built around topics and not specific courses. One of the best ways to stick with something is to have a groups of friends doing it as well (think of gym buddies). The problem with many MOOCs is that the community is only connected to the particular course (even a new version of the same course will have a separate forum), and if you fall behind a bit you end up being on your own (and then many people lose motivation and stop).

notgood 10y ago

This is the main enemy of online courses, its not the competition, its the the lack of compromise from the user in part because everything is "virtual" and you don't feel any major regret for dropping out. Coursera and all the others should focus on this part of the problem, not by asking for more money, that will just make them less likely to try again. Maybe calling the student after a few weeks of inactivity could be one way to help, another one may be to create and maintain local study groups (having free food is always a good incentive), another one is to be "paired" with another online student so you feel a little social pressure.

my_username_is_ 10y ago
>another one is to be "paired" with another online student so you feel a little social pressure. This is the biggest difference for me between courses that I have started and courses that I have finished. Meeting with someone in real life, even if it's just for an hour a week, easily creates the pressure to continue on that an email reminder simply doesn't do.

arrmn 10y ago

I've currently finished Andrew Ng's course on machine learning, this worked for me: 1. Set a clear goal, e.g "By the end of September I want to work through the course solve all the exercises". 2. Tell another friend what I'm doing and make a bet, every time I don't finish the weeks assignments in time I'll pay 50€. 3. Plan the evening before at what time I'm going to sit down and do this course.

utefan001 10y ago

Working on my startup, I have thought a lot about this. Would the following be useful to anyone? -create a linode, AWS or DO instance. - Have trusted friend config wireless router to use new instance IP for DNS. - Run modified nodejs dnsjack on new instance. - Add my SmartMadre traffic control code to instance. Config oAuth or our APIanySite - Now, code will cut off non allowed sites after X mins. SmartMadre code requires some amount of measurable progress to allow full internet back - give trusted friend control of instance. You and friend could get email showing amount of daily progress. - Suggestions welcome!

Kenji 10y ago
The problem then becomes that you get bored halfway through setting this up ;) But you raise an important point. Doing it with a friend. It helps so much because you motivate eachother and there's also a bit of friendly competition and raising eachother's bar.

white-flame 10y ago

A big problem lies from the MOOC end, not the student end, in unnecessarily enforcing a schedule and penalizing those who fall behind. That's a huge detractor to catching up and finishing the course when "life happens". If I could resume at my own pace, I'd have finished courses that I gave up on.

solarengineer 10y ago
+1. I have found myself completing courses when I can choose my pace. There are times when I am done with project work, and I merrily chomp through a course or some difficult task during the weekend. I wonder if this schedule is a carry over from how college courses are run. Perhaps there are those who need the discipline of a schedule. It'd have been nice to have a choice between a schedule as well as an "at your pace".