4 ms·

Hi, I'm one of the developers for MITx. We'd love to get your feedback on the system - bugs, features you'd like to see, what you like and don't like, etc. Than

Hi, I'm one of the developers for MITx. We'd love to get your feedback on the system - bugs, features you'd like to see, what you like and don't like, etc. Thanks!

huh_wha 15y ago
Found a small error... I was in the "Lab0: Using the tools" and I put "500uA" for the answer to "Current flowing into source (amps, with correct sign)". I got an Unknown Error javascript alert. When I removed the "A" from the answer box, all was well.
waterlesscloud 15y ago
Looks much spiffier than I expected. Very well organized and presented. I did manage to get the scrolling text out of synch with the video. I think it was because I put the first video on 1.25 speed. The next video then reverted to 1.0 speed by itself, but I think the text stayed on 1.25. When I explicitly reset the video to 1.0, the text re-synched and stayed synched.
zackattack 15y ago
would be nice to see a syllabus on the home page
lindowe 15y ago
Great UI, having had to use the blackboard system for 4 years of undergrad I'm really impressed with how much cleaner/intuitive this feels.
srik 15y ago
Excellent. That is a really well done CMS, and Im not being nice. The textbook specially is a nice touch. Love the course progress. Small request - Given that most of your users are going to be college students whose emails are cut off after graduating, I think you should allow emails to be changeable in the profile. (I used my school email hoping to change it later on. I couldve signed up for another accont but your policy prohibits that not to mention I lose my username.)
- ernestipark 15y ago
  Thanks for the feedback from everyone. Some of these things we've been aware of and are working on, others are news to us. We really appreciate it and will be working hard to improve the system. Please keep the feedback coming, whether here or through our feedback form (footer of page once you log in).
mwmnj 15y ago
One of the first things I noticed was the video sizing. The default size seemed too small but the larger size was not view able without scrolling down past so all of the top nav controls where out of the way. Making video like a click to resize type thing would be pretty cool. (just resizing the browser content also seems to be a suitable solution too however)
martingordon 15y ago
A very minor issue – I was looking through the Terms of Service and noticed that under the DMCA section, DMCA is misspelled as DCMA in both the email and mailing addresses.
corey 15y ago
So far it looks great. A full screen button for the videos would be nice, though.
jallmann 15y ago
Thanks for the subtitles. They would be easier to follow if overlaid directly on the video. I understand the transcript is supposed to be clickable/seekable, so maybe have traditional overlays as a full-screen option.
- Fivesheep 15y ago
  Second it. The subtitles on the right side is very good, but having a traditional overlay will make it perfect.
inconditus 15y ago
It'd be great if one could toggle the quality of the videos, the default is 480 but I noticed you guys offer 720.
berberous 15y ago
I may have missed it - but it seems like the transcription for the videos is synced to the video so that you cant scroll and read it faster than the video plays. I'd love if it was scrollable somehow; for example, I could quickly read a section that was less than interesting, then click to rejoin the part where I want to actually listen/watch the video.
moizsyed 15y ago
Wow, great design. The UI is done so much better than any other education site out there.
graeme 15y ago
Looks great. Very clean and fast UI. A pleasure to use and easy to navigate. It was nice to see the textbook there. It was a little hard to read though, on my 13" screen I had to frequently scroll up and down when turning pages. I'm guessing pdf is not an option for licensing reasons, but a vertical scroll or full screen option would be nice.
Tichy 15y ago
It would have been nice to learn about the start of the course through an email, not through hacker news. In general I find reminder emails helpful in keeping up with such courses (like "new session posted")
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
178 15y ago
… and a big "Thank You!" for the built-in Calculator. Having a second Wolfram Alpha tab open gets old real quick.
padwiki 15y ago
As a "competitor", I think the biggest compliment I could pay you is this new system is the only LMS out there that even comes close to what we have built, both in content and presentation. Great job. Honestly, I'm hoping that your development cycle is long enough that we can open up a big lead while you are caught up building out new classes. Given how long the old open-courseware was around, I'm cautiously optimistic. As a student, I do have to highly recommend not using Comic Sans for any part of the presentation. It makes the slides look incredibly amateurish.
- eisbaer 15y ago
  They might be using it because of the study about font legibility and learning retention that was all over the news last year: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_revenge_of_comic_sans/ http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_revenge_of_comic... http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/01/13/new-study-suggests-comic-sans-is-good-for-you http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/01/13/new-stu... Kathy Sierra and Burt Bates also used these types of fonts in their "Head First" series for O'reilly. I have never gotten into those books, but many people love them.
  - padwiki 15y ago
    Now that is genuinely interesting. Of course, the raw data is hidden behind a paywall, so we don't really know that "significant" means to the author, or whether the test included slides or just raw text. Still, this is one of those rare times when I could be right about looking professional (it looks cheesy, can't argue that) but completely wrong if it actually leads to higher retention.
- jmcqk6 15y ago
  I've checked out several of the leading LMS's out there, and have yet to find one that I actually like. You sound confident that your LMS is quite good. I was wondering if you would link it up so that I may check it out?
  - srik 15y ago
stordoff 15y ago
The system is great, as is the content! The only bug I've found is that the videos revert to 1.0x playback when you go to the next one, but the transcript continues to move at the changed speed. The only other criticism I have is the price of the course book. It's £55 in the UK (Amazon price), which is £25 more than any other course book I have ever bought. Seeing as much of the book appears to be online, it may be worth looking at cheaper options if possible (Kindle, international edition, or some discount for MITx users).
viraptor 15y ago
Really good overall. One thing that really annoys me in the videos however is the endless tunnel effect (slowly expanding rings). It's ok when it's in the background and covered by something, but I can actually see it applied over the TA... Pretty annoying over time, reminds me of the looney tunes screen.

Hi, I'm one of the developers for MITx. We'd love to get your feedback on the system - bugs, features you'd like to see, what you like and don't like, etc. Thanks!

huh_wha 15y ago

Found a small error... I was in the "Lab0: Using the tools" and I put "500uA" for the answer to "Current flowing into source (amps, with correct sign)". I got an Unknown Error javascript alert. When I removed the "A" from the answer box, all was well.

waterlesscloud 15y ago

Looks much spiffier than I expected. Very well organized and presented. I did manage to get the scrolling text out of synch with the video. I think it was because I put the first video on 1.25 speed. The next video then reverted to 1.0 speed by itself, but I think the text stayed on 1.25. When I explicitly reset the video to 1.0, the text re-synched and stayed synched.

zackattack 15y ago

would be nice to see a syllabus on the home page

lindowe 15y ago

Great UI, having had to use the blackboard system for 4 years of undergrad I'm really impressed with how much cleaner/intuitive this feels.

srik 15y ago

Excellent. That is a really well done CMS, and Im not being nice. The textbook specially is a nice touch. Love the course progress. Small request - Given that most of your users are going to be college students whose emails are cut off after graduating, I think you should allow emails to be changeable in the profile. (I used my school email hoping to change it later on. I couldve signed up for another accont but your policy prohibits that not to mention I lose my username.)

ernestipark 15y ago
Thanks for the feedback from everyone. Some of these things we've been aware of and are working on, others are news to us. We really appreciate it and will be working hard to improve the system. Please keep the feedback coming, whether here or through our feedback form (footer of page once you log in).

mwmnj 15y ago

One of the first things I noticed was the video sizing. The default size seemed too small but the larger size was not view able without scrolling down past so all of the top nav controls where out of the way. Making video like a click to resize type thing would be pretty cool. (just resizing the browser content also seems to be a suitable solution too however)

martingordon 15y ago

A very minor issue – I was looking through the Terms of Service and noticed that under the DMCA section, DMCA is misspelled as DCMA in both the email and mailing addresses.

corey 15y ago

So far it looks great. A full screen button for the videos would be nice, though.

jallmann 15y ago

Thanks for the subtitles. They would be easier to follow if overlaid directly on the video. I understand the transcript is supposed to be clickable/seekable, so maybe have traditional overlays as a full-screen option.

Fivesheep 15y ago
Second it. The subtitles on the right side is very good, but having a traditional overlay will make it perfect.

inconditus 15y ago

It'd be great if one could toggle the quality of the videos, the default is 480 but I noticed you guys offer 720.

berberous 15y ago

I may have missed it - but it seems like the transcription for the videos is synced to the video so that you cant scroll and read it faster than the video plays. I'd love if it was scrollable somehow; for example, I could quickly read a section that was less than interesting, then click to rejoin the part where I want to actually listen/watch the video.

moizsyed 15y ago

Wow, great design. The UI is done so much better than any other education site out there.

graeme 15y ago

Looks great. Very clean and fast UI. A pleasure to use and easy to navigate. It was nice to see the textbook there. It was a little hard to read though, on my 13" screen I had to frequently scroll up and down when turning pages. I'm guessing pdf is not an option for licensing reasons, but a vertical scroll or full screen option would be nice.

Tichy 15y ago

It would have been nice to learn about the start of the course through an email, not through hacker news. In general I find reminder emails helpful in keeping up with such courses (like "new session posted")

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

178 15y ago

… and a big "Thank You!" for the built-in Calculator. Having a second Wolfram Alpha tab open gets old real quick.

padwiki 15y ago

As a "competitor", I think the biggest compliment I could pay you is this new system is the only LMS out there that even comes close to what we have built, both in content and presentation. Great job. Honestly, I'm hoping that your development cycle is long enough that we can open up a big lead while you are caught up building out new classes. Given how long the old open-courseware was around, I'm cautiously optimistic. As a student, I do have to highly recommend not using Comic Sans for any part of the presentation. It makes the slides look incredibly amateurish.

eisbaer 15y ago
They might be using it because of the study about font legibility and learning retention that was all over the news last year: http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_revenge_of_comic_sans/ http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_revenge_of_comic... http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/01/13/new-study-suggests-comic-sans-is-good-for-you http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/01/13/new-stu... Kathy Sierra and Burt Bates also used these types of fonts in their "Head First" series for O'reilly. I have never gotten into those books, but many people love them.
- padwiki 15y ago
  Now that is genuinely interesting. Of course, the raw data is hidden behind a paywall, so we don't really know that "significant" means to the author, or whether the test included slides or just raw text. Still, this is one of those rare times when I could be right about looking professional (it looks cheesy, can't argue that) but completely wrong if it actually leads to higher retention.
jmcqk6 15y ago
I've checked out several of the leading LMS's out there, and have yet to find one that I actually like. You sound confident that your LMS is quite good. I was wondering if you would link it up so that I may check it out?
- srik 15y ago

stordoff 15y ago

The system is great, as is the content! The only bug I've found is that the videos revert to 1.0x playback when you go to the next one, but the transcript continues to move at the changed speed. The only other criticism I have is the price of the course book. It's £55 in the UK (Amazon price), which is £25 more than any other course book I have ever bought. Seeing as much of the book appears to be online, it may be worth looking at cheaper options if possible (Kindle, international edition, or some discount for MITx users).

viraptor 15y ago

Really good overall. One thing that really annoys me in the videos however is the endless tunnel effect (slowly expanding rings). It's ok when it's in the background and covered by something, but I can actually see it applied over the TA... Pretty annoying over time, reminds me of the looney tunes screen.