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Although 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 th

by lambada 15y ago

Although 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 ago
Both 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 ago
  Spot 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 ago
  I'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 ago
    I quit early because the platform was unusable (slow, buggy)
  - LaGrange 15y ago
    They 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
      Try watching the ML or DB lectures in '1.5x' mode (it speeds the video up). Because of the faster pace, it is a really good counter to my ADD tendencies. Also it is really nice when you are trying to cram a few lectures into a short time period.
  - dirtyaura 15y ago
    The video editing is also fine. If such minor issues break your rhythm, you might need to rethink your approach to the lessons. Video editing in AI class is against the knowledge that we have learned in 100+ years of movie editing. Cutting 1-2 seconds but keeping the same scene gives a jarring experience. They cut out a few seconds so that you don't need to watch Norvig or Thrun to finish writing of a word or sentence, but that's saving time in the wrong place in my opinion. If you watch Khan Academy or ML class, those 1-2 seconds give a natural pause, that you can use to think about the subject. I've nothing against the pen and paper approach, although occlusion is sometimes a problem. Based on my experience with Khan, AI and ML classes drawing by hand is the essential thing, is it less important if it's done electronically or by pen and paper. Anyway, my main point is that execution of e.g. Khan Academy and ML class are better than AI class, and I'd personally prefer that inspiration for new online education courses is taken from them instead of AI class approach.
- WildUtah 15y ago
  I wouldn't call the ai-class.org platform broken. It's just not done yet. The AI class is like a beta test and there are plenty of bugs and problems. The content is still good, but the programming problems and automated grader that would be necessary for students to really absorb the advanced material doesn't seem to be on their radar. The result is a certain superficiality. The ML class is much more developed. In the first few weeks the contrast of the finished, professional seeming ML class with the rough and hacky AI class was extreme but AI is catching up. I'm looking forward to improvements in both platforms and new material in the spring. Other competitors like Kahnacademy are exciting, too. I'd like to see more study groups around the world building this into a movement with broadening impact. Neither class had direct support for forming study groups. If you have to go on Reddit to get together with people, you're excluding 50-90% of the people who would use a simple no-friction geo-aware meetup-style tool if it were on the site's front page and main menu. Since study groups have a minimum size threshold to remain viable, that eliminates a magnified portion of potential participants. So I'm pleased and still hope that this could be a mass-movement that leverages technology to change the way education is done around the world. Competing platforms is a better bet than one great platform for perfecting hard to build but needed features like labs, programming assignments, study group support, office hours and teachers' assistants, and homework help and hints. The future, at least in our industry, is bright.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
frobozz 15y ago
What kind of time commitment does it require?
- lambada 15y ago
  For 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 ago
    Thanks. This is the critical nugget of information missing from the course information pages (unless I'm just lacking in observation skills).
- egor83 15y ago
  For 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 ago
  I 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 ago
  I 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

by lambada 15y ago

dirtyaura 15y ago

Both 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 ago
Spot 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 ago
I'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 ago
  I quit early because the platform was unusable (slow, buggy)
- LaGrange 15y ago
  They 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
    Try watching the ML or DB lectures in '1.5x' mode (it speeds the video up). Because of the faster pace, it is a really good counter to my ADD tendencies. Also it is really nice when you are trying to cram a few lectures into a short time period.
- dirtyaura 15y ago
  The video editing is also fine. If such minor issues break your rhythm, you might need to rethink your approach to the lessons. Video editing in AI class is against the knowledge that we have learned in 100+ years of movie editing. Cutting 1-2 seconds but keeping the same scene gives a jarring experience. They cut out a few seconds so that you don't need to watch Norvig or Thrun to finish writing of a word or sentence, but that's saving time in the wrong place in my opinion. If you watch Khan Academy or ML class, those 1-2 seconds give a natural pause, that you can use to think about the subject. I've nothing against the pen and paper approach, although occlusion is sometimes a problem. Based on my experience with Khan, AI and ML classes drawing by hand is the essential thing, is it less important if it's done electronically or by pen and paper. Anyway, my main point is that execution of e.g. Khan Academy and ML class are better than AI class, and I'd personally prefer that inspiration for new online education courses is taken from them instead of AI class approach.
WildUtah 15y ago
I wouldn't call the ai-class.org platform broken. It's just not done yet. The AI class is like a beta test and there are plenty of bugs and problems. The content is still good, but the programming problems and automated grader that would be necessary for students to really absorb the advanced material doesn't seem to be on their radar. The result is a certain superficiality. The ML class is much more developed. In the first few weeks the contrast of the finished, professional seeming ML class with the rough and hacky AI class was extreme but AI is catching up. I'm looking forward to improvements in both platforms and new material in the spring. Other competitors like Kahnacademy are exciting, too. I'd like to see more study groups around the world building this into a movement with broadening impact. Neither class had direct support for forming study groups. If you have to go on Reddit to get together with people, you're excluding 50-90% of the people who would use a simple no-friction geo-aware meetup-style tool if it were on the site's front page and main menu. Since study groups have a minimum size threshold to remain viable, that eliminates a magnified portion of potential participants. So I'm pleased and still hope that this could be a mass-movement that leverages technology to change the way education is done around the world. Competing platforms is a better bet than one great platform for perfecting hard to build but needed features like labs, programming assignments, study group support, office hours and teachers' assistants, and homework help and hints. The future, at least in our industry, is bright.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

frobozz 15y ago

What kind of time commitment does it require?

lambada 15y ago
For 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 ago
  Thanks. This is the critical nugget of information missing from the course information pages (unless I'm just lacking in observation skills).
egor83 15y ago
For 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 ago
I 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 ago
I 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