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> The best technical courses are on Udacity. Is that universally agreed on? The Udacity courses I had looked at (full stack development, AI for self driving ca

by FabHK 8y ago

> The best technical courses are on Udacity. Is that universally agreed on? The Udacity courses I had looked at (full stack development, AI for self driving cars) were good and insightful, but somewhat half-baked, and not as good as edX or Coursera.

projectramo 8y ago
Ah, it was so obvious and strong to me (3 certificates and many courses) that I didn't think this was debated. I would be interested (if you have the energy) to see which Coursera and Edx courses you preferred to the Udacity courses you liked.
- zawerf 8y ago
  A while back I wanted to learn about SLAM, computer vision, robotics, drones, etc. I did all the following courses which had significant overlap in materials: https://www.edx.org/course/autonomous-navigation-flying-robots-tumx-autonavx-0 https://www.edx.org/course/autonomous-navigation-flying-robo... https://www.coursera.org/specializations/robotics https://www.coursera.org/specializations/robotics (also available at edx as https://www.edx.org/micromasters/pennx-robotics https://www.edx.org/micromasters/pennx-robotics) https://in.udacity.com/course/artificial-intelligence-for-robotics--cs373 https://in.udacity.com/course/artificial-intelligence-for-ro... And I would rank them in the order of edx, coursera, and udacity last. It's not totally fair because the best comparison for udacity should be their self driving car nanodegree but it doesn't let you audit for free and I don't care for certificates. From the few udacity courses I did do, I felt their videos are too short and triggers my ADHD to go do something else after watching each minute or two long video. Edx/coursera felt a lot more like university lectures and felt more rigorous in comparison.
  - ericlavigne 8y ago
    Agreed that Udacity's AI for Robotics was a weak course. I highly recommend some of Udacity's recent paid-only courses on robotics: Self-driving car engineer nanodegree (not the one with "intro" in its name) https://www.udacity.com/course/self-driving-car-engineer-nanodegree--nd013 https://www.udacity.com/course/self-driving-car-engineer-nan... Robotics software engineer nanodegree https://www.udacity.com/course/robotics-software-engineer--nd209 https://www.udacity.com/course/robotics-software-engineer--n... Flying car and autonomous flight engineer nanodegree https://www.udacity.com/course/flying-car-nanodegree--nd787 https://www.udacity.com/course/flying-car-nanodegree--nd787 Just as a sample, this is one of many projects I completed as part of the self-driving car engineer nanodegree. My code controls a car driving on a highway with other cars. https://github.com/ericlavigne/CarND-Path-Planning https://github.com/ericlavigne/CarND-Path-Planning
  - capitalsigma 8y ago
    I found edX to be pretty lacking if you wanted to learn something advanced that's not quite "flavor of the day:" no higher level pure math classes, very few algorithms classes past intro level, very little material on digital design other than the MIT 6.002 sequence. Tons of choices for machine learning, Python, and AP calculus though.
    - barry-cotter 8y ago
      There’s a reasonably extensive MicroMasters course on Algorithms and Data Structures. How would you rate it? Comparable to finishing Skiena? CLRS? Concrete Mathematics? https://www.edx.org/micromasters/ucsandiegox-algorithms-and-data-structures https://www.edx.org/micromasters/ucsandiegox-algorithms-and-... What You'll Learn: Understand essential algorithmic techniques and apply them to solve algorithmic problems Implement programs that work in less than one second even on massive datasets Test and debug your code even without knowing the input on which it fails Formulate real life computational problems as rigorous algorithmic problems Prove correctness of an algorithm and analyze its running time Courses Algorithmic Design and Techniques Learn how to design algorithms, solve computational problems and implement solutions efficiently. Data Structures Fundamentals Learn about data structures that are used in computational thinking – both basic and advanced. Graph Algorithms Learn how to use algorithms to explore graphs, compute shortest distance, min spanning tree, and connected components. NP-Complete Problems Learn about NP-complete problems, known as hard problems that can’t be solved efficiently, and practice solving them using algorithmic techniques. String Processing and Pattern Matching Algorithms Learn about pattern matching and string processing algorithms and how they apply to interesting applications. Dynamic Programming: Applications In Machine Learning and Genomics Learn how dynamic programming and Hidden Markov Models can be used to compare genetic strings and uncover evolution. Graph Algorithms in Genome Sequencing Learn how graphs are used to assemble millions of pieces of DNA into a contiguous genome and use these genomes to construct a Tree of Life. Algorithms and Data Structures Capstone Synthesize your knowledge of algorithms and biology to build your own software for solving a biological challenge.
mojoe 8y ago
I'm not a fan of Udacity, mainly because I paid them $800 for a single course (the first in the self-driving car series) and then they blocked all my access to the course content because I didn't finish the projects in the allotted time. I was hoping to finish later because my work schedule changed, but they were completely inflexible. I should have read the fine print. The course content was OK, but I don't think they have great policies.
- SilasX 8y ago
  I was frustrated with Udacity for the same reason, plus, their ostensible expertise is way overstated [1]. The entire reason I'm paying for a course is to be able to bounce arbitrary questions off experts. They provide people who are still in the fake-it-till-you-make-it stage that's so popular. [1] Earlier comment where I asked a basic question that went beyond the understanding of the literal face of the course. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18596450#18601298 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18596450#18601298
- jammygit 8y ago
  I lost access to some materials years ago too. It was a great program but I got hired and it no longer made sense to keep learning python. The switch to fixed terms is a bit off putting for me

by FabHK 8y ago

projectramo 8y ago

Ah, it was so obvious and strong to me (3 certificates and many courses) that I didn't think this was debated. I would be interested (if you have the energy) to see which Coursera and Edx courses you preferred to the Udacity courses you liked.

zawerf 8y ago
A while back I wanted to learn about SLAM, computer vision, robotics, drones, etc. I did all the following courses which had significant overlap in materials: https://www.edx.org/course/autonomous-navigation-flying-robots-tumx-autonavx-0 https://www.edx.org/course/autonomous-navigation-flying-robo... https://www.coursera.org/specializations/robotics https://www.coursera.org/specializations/robotics (also available at edx as https://www.edx.org/micromasters/pennx-robotics https://www.edx.org/micromasters/pennx-robotics) https://in.udacity.com/course/artificial-intelligence-for-robotics--cs373 https://in.udacity.com/course/artificial-intelligence-for-ro... And I would rank them in the order of edx, coursera, and udacity last. It's not totally fair because the best comparison for udacity should be their self driving car nanodegree but it doesn't let you audit for free and I don't care for certificates. From the few udacity courses I did do, I felt their videos are too short and triggers my ADHD to go do something else after watching each minute or two long video. Edx/coursera felt a lot more like university lectures and felt more rigorous in comparison.
- ericlavigne 8y ago
  Agreed that Udacity's AI for Robotics was a weak course. I highly recommend some of Udacity's recent paid-only courses on robotics: Self-driving car engineer nanodegree (not the one with "intro" in its name) https://www.udacity.com/course/self-driving-car-engineer-nanodegree--nd013 https://www.udacity.com/course/self-driving-car-engineer-nan... Robotics software engineer nanodegree https://www.udacity.com/course/robotics-software-engineer--nd209 https://www.udacity.com/course/robotics-software-engineer--n... Flying car and autonomous flight engineer nanodegree https://www.udacity.com/course/flying-car-nanodegree--nd787 https://www.udacity.com/course/flying-car-nanodegree--nd787 Just as a sample, this is one of many projects I completed as part of the self-driving car engineer nanodegree. My code controls a car driving on a highway with other cars. https://github.com/ericlavigne/CarND-Path-Planning https://github.com/ericlavigne/CarND-Path-Planning
- capitalsigma 8y ago
  I found edX to be pretty lacking if you wanted to learn something advanced that's not quite "flavor of the day:" no higher level pure math classes, very few algorithms classes past intro level, very little material on digital design other than the MIT 6.002 sequence. Tons of choices for machine learning, Python, and AP calculus though.
  - barry-cotter 8y ago
    There’s a reasonably extensive MicroMasters course on Algorithms and Data Structures. How would you rate it? Comparable to finishing Skiena? CLRS? Concrete Mathematics? https://www.edx.org/micromasters/ucsandiegox-algorithms-and-data-structures https://www.edx.org/micromasters/ucsandiegox-algorithms-and-... What You'll Learn: Understand essential algorithmic techniques and apply them to solve algorithmic problems Implement programs that work in less than one second even on massive datasets Test and debug your code even without knowing the input on which it fails Formulate real life computational problems as rigorous algorithmic problems Prove correctness of an algorithm and analyze its running time Courses Algorithmic Design and Techniques Learn how to design algorithms, solve computational problems and implement solutions efficiently. Data Structures Fundamentals Learn about data structures that are used in computational thinking – both basic and advanced. Graph Algorithms Learn how to use algorithms to explore graphs, compute shortest distance, min spanning tree, and connected components. NP-Complete Problems Learn about NP-complete problems, known as hard problems that can’t be solved efficiently, and practice solving them using algorithmic techniques. String Processing and Pattern Matching Algorithms Learn about pattern matching and string processing algorithms and how they apply to interesting applications. Dynamic Programming: Applications In Machine Learning and Genomics Learn how dynamic programming and Hidden Markov Models can be used to compare genetic strings and uncover evolution. Graph Algorithms in Genome Sequencing Learn how graphs are used to assemble millions of pieces of DNA into a contiguous genome and use these genomes to construct a Tree of Life. Algorithms and Data Structures Capstone Synthesize your knowledge of algorithms and biology to build your own software for solving a biological challenge.

mojoe 8y ago

I'm not a fan of Udacity, mainly because I paid them $800 for a single course (the first in the self-driving car series) and then they blocked all my access to the course content because I didn't finish the projects in the allotted time. I was hoping to finish later because my work schedule changed, but they were completely inflexible. I should have read the fine print. The course content was OK, but I don't think they have great policies.

SilasX 8y ago
I was frustrated with Udacity for the same reason, plus, their ostensible expertise is way overstated [1]. The entire reason I'm paying for a course is to be able to bounce arbitrary questions off experts. They provide people who are still in the fake-it-till-you-make-it stage that's so popular. [1] Earlier comment where I asked a basic question that went beyond the understanding of the literal face of the course. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18596450#18601298 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18596450#18601298
jammygit 8y ago
I lost access to some materials years ago too. It was a great program but I got hired and it no longer made sense to keep learning python. The switch to fixed terms is a bit off putting for me