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Stanford to host more online classes
- pitt1980 15y agoSince there seems to be someone involved in running these classes in this thread, I just want to throw this out there. The higher ratio of quizes per minutes of lecture the better. I think its ideal to never go more than 2-3 minutes without asking us something, even if its trivial. Right now I'm taking the AI classes, some of the units follow this rule and keep us paying attention through what I imagine would otherwise be some pretty dense stuff. A few of the units (looking at you Professor Norvig) have had stretches 15+ minutes of lecture without asking us anything, just going to say, retention from those stretches was low. Personally I really like it when they quiz our intuition of a subject before they lecture it, though it seems like other people complain about that on the reddit forum
- alok-g 15y agoI would say that forcing longer time spans before quizzes forces you to maintain your attention and thus would help you retain your learning for longer.
- danielharan 15y agoI'd guess otherwise, but that would be easy to test for the course organizers.
- lambada 15y agoAlthough I had to drop the previous classes due to time, this looks promising. Particularly with the unified style; that is the one thing that seemed to hurt this years effort - The most widely advertised course (AI) had the worst layout and 'features'.
- dirtyaura 15y agoBoth ML and DB classes are better executed than AI class. AI class is backed with a broken platform by a small startup, whereas ML class was run by code developed in Stanford. AI class also had jarring video editing which totally broke the rhythm. Both ML class and e.g. Khan Academy has this natural flow that is pleasure to follow. To me it has been surprising how big difference in experience the technical execution between classes made. Both Norvig and Thrun are clearly good teachers, but AI class failed because of the poor technical implementation.
- retrovirus 15y agoSpot on :) I'm currently taking both the ML and AI classes and the difference is disturbing. I'm sure things will improve in the next iteration, though, and after all I'm very grateful that all these courses are publicly available for free.
- thomas11 15y agoI'm doing ai-class and I find it just fine. After the first two weeks, all the technology worked just fine - what problems are you referring to? The video editing is also fine. If such minor issues break your rhythm, you might need to rethink your approach to the lessons. Given that there are still thousands of students in the class and enjoying it, it didn't "fail" at all.
- VMG 15y agoI quit early because the platform was unusable (slow, buggy)
- LaGrange 15y agoThey work, but they're less usable than the db and ml counterparts. On the other hand, the videos themselves are actually better (I love the pen-and-paper approach), and there's a lot more small questions within lectures, which helps keeping my ADD in check.
- pyoung 15y ago
- frobozz 15y agoWhat kind of time commitment does it require?
- lambada 15y agoFor me it took 3 or 4 hours a week per course. It doesn't sound like much, but pre-arranged plans made it hard to find a decent sized piece of time (>1 hr) in which to do the work.
- frobozz 15y agoThanks. This is the critical nugget of information missing from the course information pages (unless I'm just lacking in observation skills).
- egor83 15y agoFor me it was maybe 5-6 hours per week (for AI course). It was quite intensive thinking, though, really requiring concentration and effort; the courses themselves (ie just video) were maybe about 1 hour per unit, and there were two units per week.
- larrykubin 15y agoI started out spending closer to 10 hours a week earlier on in the AI course. We initially had a local meetup and I spent more time reading the textbook for the first few units. Had to scale it back to 5 or so hours, which is good enough to get through it, but not enough to spend extra time discussing with others, reading supplementary materials, and coding.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- thmcmahon 15y agoI think I've spent about 5 hours per week on the db class. I'm not getting full marks by any means, but I'm learning a lot.
- adestefan 15y ago
- roxtar 15y agoThe SaaS class (http://www.saas-class.org/ http://www.saas-class.org/) is missing in the title. Looks exciting!
- tutysara 15y agoThis is fantastic. I would also like to do some course in mathematics (under graduate level calculus, discrete mathematics ) to improve my skills. Are there any good places/resources where I can learn these things (video lectures with quizzes in between will be a nice choice). I am also ready to take a paid certified course if some reputed college is offering them online.
- HickyAU 15y agoAll of these courses look so appealing, I want to do ALL OF THEM (except maybe CS101).
- karpathy 15y agoI get easily excited about education-related topics so I may be over-reacting, but I think these classes will jump-start an educational revolution, and that people will start to fully appreciate just how inefficient traditional teaching methods are. Some people like to say that this is nothing new because video lectures were posted on the internet for several years now (for example MIT Open Courseware etc.), but I think this misses the point entirely. There is a huge difference between low-quality video/audio recording of a prof mumbling for an hour and post-processed, perfected snippets of videos presented in a coherent fashion, and most importantly with supplementary materials that encourage people to actually apply their knowledge and get feedback. In addition, the fact that many people take the class at the same time also enhances the experience for everyone, and we've seen study groups form everywhere around internet. Full disclosure, by the way, I'm a CS PhD student at Stanford and I am a (voluntary) co-creator of the programming assignments for the current ML class. It is a lot of work, but the way I see it, we only have to put great assignments together a single time, and thousands of people can enjoy them and benefit from them for years and years to come. That is what I call time well spent. I hope all these classes go well, and I'm looking forward to telling my kids about what education used to be like in the old days. I have a feeling that they'll find it hard to believe me.
- aroberge 15y agoAny chance (some of) the code for the platform could be shared? I particularly love the exercises (review questions) and the way some questions are embedded in the videos. Thank you and your teammates for some great work.
- Tichy 15y agoThanks for the great exercises, you made them really fun! I think the course is absolutely stellar.
- amirmc 15y agoThe homework and in-video questions are what keep me involved. I have such a busy schedule that its difficult to maintain the discipline to simply keep up if there were only videos. However, having external deadlines and practical things have encouraged me to make the time (and I'm very happy about it). I agree that this is potentially revolutionary. Before these courses, I couldn't have imagined doing a 'distance-learning' course. I suspect there are many other folks that feel the same. Also, thank you for your work on the ML programming exercises! I've found them fantastic in getting my head around how to practically 'encode' the things from the videos. Much appreciated.
- imrehg 15y agoNow I know what am I doing next spring. :D Sweet! Thanks for everyone at Stanford working on this and making it possible. What an amazing collaboration between teachers and students (as the current ML, DB and AI classes show as well).
- rmnoon 15y agoFYI: the "CS-101" course is a really really basic introduction to computational thinking. If you want intro programming you probably want CS106A, which hasn't been put into this format yet. 101 is taught by Nick Parlante, though, who was one of my favorite profs at Stanford.
- rohitarondekar 15y agoDo you get an email confirmation on signing up? Also how does this course work? The site didn't provide any information about that ― although I haven't seen the 'about course' video. Has anybody here tried this before? Are the videos webcasts or pre-recorded video that I can download/view at anytime? Also is it open for everybody or will the sign ups be restricted? All in all this looks awesome and I'm very much interested in the Game Theory and SaaS classes! :)
- thmcmahon 15y agoHaving done the db-class here's my experience of how things worked. Although I understand it's different from class to class. Course is like a typical Uni course. Lectures, readings, tests and exams. I received an email a week before the class started. Videos came out and could be watched in the browser or downloaded. Open to anyone.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- lambada 15y agoAnyone know if AI-Class will be running again in 2012? The links between the 2012 courses suggest not, but that could just be down to Ai-Class being different.
- giulivo 15y ago+1 also, what about the DB class ? will it be running again in 2012 ? I couldn't "attend" more than one at the same time (especially the advanced tracks) and I already joined the ML class.
- thmcmahon 15y agoProf. Widom said that if she were to run the class again, it would be at the same time next year, because thats when she runs it at Stanford.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- henrikgs 15y agoMy guess is AI and DB class will be running again in the fall of 2012. They will probably follow the schedule Stanford has on these courses. Just a guess though
- NnamdiJr 15y agoThis is very exciting news, very much an autodidact's dream. I've been enjoying crawling my way through the great ML classes by Prof Andrew Ng, and had been wondering if by any luck other classes would be provided for future semesters. Seeing this just makes me really happy, and thankful to Stanford. Not only is it the future of education but also gives countless people around the globe a chance to learn topics they may otherwise have never had access to (I am one in this category). Signing up for NLP!
- ramkalari 15y agoMIT OCW requires a far higher level of intrinsic motivation. Stanford has almost nailed it. While online learning has taken Space out of the equation, Time, it seems, is still a big variable. Having people do the course at the same time with deadlines is working. They just need to work through the technical glitches, which shouldn't be that hard.
- eliben 15y agoWill the materials for these courses (videos + ref material + assignments + solutions) be available for browsing after the course has ended?
- henrikgs 15y agoFor the ongoing courses it will be available, so I guess it will be the same for these also.The thing you miss out on taking them later is the structure of the class with deadlines (very good incentive to really sit down and learn!) and personal letter from the teachers
- spacemanaki 15y agoDo you have a reference for that about the ongoing courses? I tried to find something about it a while ago and couldn't. It would be awesome if they plan to just leave the whole web app with quizzes etc up and open for people to use at their own pace.
- henrikgs 15y agoFrom The DB class FAQ: Q: Will the materials still be available after the course is over? At the very least, all of the materials in the OpenClassroom repository will be available, including videos with embedded quizzes, lecture notes, course materials, software guides, and extensive do-it-yourself exercises with solutions. http://openclassroom.stanford.edu/MainFolder/CoursePage.php?course=IntroToDatabases http://openclassroom.stanford.edu/MainFolder/CoursePage.php?...
- spacemanaki 15y agoI was actually wondering about the AI class... it's not listed on the Open Classroom site. It's really weird that they are not under the same umbrella but I guess the AI class is managed by that start up or something? Thanks anyway.
- 15y ago
- ya3r 15y agoDirect URL of classes: New classes: (start in Jan/Feb 2012) Computer Science 101: http://www.cs101-class.org/ http://www.cs101-class.org/ Software Engineering for Software as a Service: http://www.saas-class.org/ http://www.saas-class.org/ Human-Computer Interfaces: http://www.hci-class.org/ http://www.hci-class.org/ Natural Language Processing: http://www.nlp-class.org/ http://www.nlp-class.org/ Game Theory: http://www.game-theory-class.org/ http://www.game-theory-class.org/ Probabilistic Graphical Models: http://www.pgm-class.org/ http://www.pgm-class.org/ --------------------------- Old Classes: (already started) Machine Learning: http://www.ml-class.org/ http://www.ml-class.org/ Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: https://www.ai-class.com/ https://www.ai-class.com/ Introduction to Databases: http://www.db-class.org/ http://www.db-class.org/
- ddlatham 15y agoInteresting that the SaaS class is being done by two Berkeley profs (and is the only one missing the Stanford logo).
- hornd 15y agoI think it's great. Hopefully this idea will catch on with other universities; one day we might see an entire Khan Academy type site for computer science classes taught by the worlds leading experts.
- lesterbuck 15y agoI presume that glaring .com for the AI class is another indicator that the AI class will be a for profit operation at some point.
- memetichazard 15y agoNo mention of the two Entrepreneurship classes? Were they not there originally? Technology Entrepreneurship: http://www.startup-class.org/ http://www.startup-class.org/ Learn Launchpad: http://www.launchpad-class.org/ http://www.launchpad-class.org/ -------------------- So what are these courses? Video isn't working for me at the moment but judging by the descriptions they seem to be more involved than the CS courses: Quoting from the Launchpad description: Instead you will be getting your hands dirty talking to customers, partners, competitors, as you encounter the chaos and uncertainty of how a startup actually works. EDIT: 10 minutes later, the Technology Entrepreneurship class redirects to a blank page and is no longer linked to from the other courses... Hey, think this means there might be even more courses coming out later?
- dudurocha 15y agoFor me, as a brazilian computer engineering student, I think these classes are amazing. Although I study in one of the best computer schools in brazil ( www.cin.ufpe.br), my classes tend to be bad and boring. My teachers have Phd's and all those letters, but cant teach in a good and engaging way. And my classes have old subjects, because they made the curriculum 10 years ago. Thank you so much, Stanford, the teachers for the modern and brave choice to teach people all around the world, thanks for all the students engaged in making the classes available for everybody. and thanks hn buddies for always giving the good news. Will enroll to SaaS and hci or nlp.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- Vivtek 15y ago_Yesssss!_ I was really hoping for NLP!
- ghurlman 15y agoI, for one, am really hoping this is a start of a trend - where coursework, even if just in a prerecorded format, is available to all, with the tuition going towards the rich in-person experience and grading/certification for the student, much like the way the primary tech conferences have been trending for free content for al.
- burrokeet 15y agoNick Parlante is a GREAT instructor!
- brown9-2 15y agoI'm taking the ML class right now and it is truly excellent - all aspects of it, the videos, material and assignments. Can't recommend these enough. The only problem with the winter classes is I can't decide which to take!
- michaelbarton 15y agoJoin all the ones you're interested in then drop the least interesting classes. I joined the ML and AI class this year then focused on the ML class because the octave exercises are a great way to learn. The probabilistic graphical models looks like it may have a similar format as the introductory video mentions automatically graded programming exercises.
- brown9-2 15y agoI have a feeling they'll all be copying the format/software of the ML class, at least based on the introductory videos.
- michaelbarton 15y agoThat would be great. I was disappointed when the AI class didn't have programming exercises. I feel like these were the part that really enforced the learning for me. I think another part that worked well was that getting 100% for each exercise is readily achievable. I want to finish each exercise perfectly so I don't break my 100% record for the course. I think this works well for motivation.
- romansanchez 15y agoThis is awesome! I'm scheduling my spring classes around these classes.
- itmag 15y agoDoes anyone else think a startup could be built around a software platform that universities could use for releasing their content to the world? See here: http://ideashower.posterous.com/idea-platform-that-universities-can-use-to-re http://ideashower.posterous.com/idea-platform-that-universit... If anyone wants to work on this, contact me :)
- law 15y agoUnfortunately, Blackboards' patents preclude this from becoming a reality. For the next 15 years, Blackboard has an exclusive right to practice this "virtual classroom" business method.[1] Their patent pledge[2] promises that they will not assert their rights against any open-source or home-grown initiative, which is why Stanford et al. are able to get away with hosting their own content in this format. It's a harsh reality that by itself makes the case for patent reform. [1]: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7,493,396.PN.&OS=PN/7,493,396&RS=PN/7,493,396 http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sec... [2]: http://www.blackboard.com/about-bb/patents/patent-pledge.aspx http://www.blackboard.com/about-bb/patents/patent-pledge.asp...
- rosh 15y agoYou should contact Thrun and Norvig who are running ai-class, they've started http://www.knowit.com/ http://www.knowit.com/
- itmag 15y ago
- ireadzalot 15y agoCan someone please explain a little about HCI? For example, how it applies to real world, types of things you learn in class etc.
- innocentques 15y agoI think it is about making a good design of your product.
- olozano 15y agoAs it names suggests, HCI is a field that attempts to understand the way we interact with machines. The idea is that by understanding this relationship we should be able to build better designed software/hardware (or more usable, as it's known in the field). It's a merging field involving mainly psychology, design and computer science. As for how it applies to the real world, either UX design or usability engineering are probably the most commonly found examples out there.
- beagledude 15y agoDoes anyone know when Tim Roughgarden's class will be available? Data structures and algorithms?
- peaigr 15y agoIf you're talking about his undergrad class (CS 161), there are at least videos of his lectures on OpenClassroom: http://openclassroom.stanford.edu/MainFolder/CoursePage.php?course=IntroToAlgorithms http://openclassroom.stanford.edu/MainFolder/CoursePage.php?... The lectures are broken up into segments (which you might find convenient or annoying). There's not much more than that, unfortunately. If you want exercises, his problem sets are mostly from Kleinberg & Tardos, sometimes with problems from CLRS.
- gbcodr 15y agoI wish they would add a course on Probability or Probability and Statistics.
- amjith 15y agoI highly recommend http://khanacademy.org http://khanacademy.org for Probability. http://www.khanacademy.org/#probability http://www.khanacademy.org/#probability I went through all the videos on that subject in preparation for AI Class and it helped me tremendously.
- alanav 15y agoI was wondering if taking these courses improve your resume in a general way and/or help your chances to get into a good graduate school program.
- huherto 15y agoThis is fantastic. A few weeks ago Sebastian tweeted about the possibility of having an online Master's when they met with the president of Stanford. Has anyone heard anything new about it?
- rubergly 15y agoArghhhh. I find these incredibly frustrating. I am writing a senior honors thesis for my university, and wanted to take as few classes as possible this year to focus on my thesis work. The ML class has distracted me this semester, and it looks like things are going to get worse next semester. On a serious note, does anyone know if there are plans to continue these courses next year? I suppose it will really depend on how well each class goes, but I mostly feel pressured to take these because I'm afraid I'll miss them.
- gabaix 15y agoOne of the great hidden benefits of those classes is to taste the flavor of the classes, should they want to apply to the university. I would particularly interested in the difference between Berkeley classes (SaaS) and Stanford classes (CS101 or ML)
- omlette 15y agoWhat sort of applications does game theory have in software engineering? not that it wouldn't be interesting otherwise..
- kaybe 15y agoSo, you people have a lot of friends right now (including me). Care to make a wish from the internet to give something back? :)
- eddyweb 15y agoDid anyone check this link too on that page www.entrepreneur-class.org. I think it's going to be useful for startup guys