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That’s called going to college. You can however earn certificates for courses through services such as EdX: https://www.edx.org/school/mitx https://www.edx.org

That’s called going to college. You can however earn certificates for courses through services such as EdX: https://www.edx.org/school/mitx https://www.edx.org/school/mitx Although it appears as though you need the “Certified” premium status to achieve certification, which is almost $200USD.

ekianjo 3y ago
> That’s called going to college. And thats too expensive for most people. Which is funny because knowledge is mostly free.
- a_bonobo 3y ago
  Knowledge is free; the time of people pushing the knowledge into you is not free. (Self-taught in my eyes usually means 'i've picked out the things that interest me and then learned those' - it's the job of the the paid people to force you to learn the things that don't directly interest you)
- chongli 3y ago
  Going to college is only nominally about acquiring knowledge. In reality it’s about acquiring a credential. All of the gatekeeping involved in admissions and examinations is to protect the value of the credential. The reason MOOC certificates are largely worthless as a credential is because there are NO safeguards against cheating.
  - gumby 3y ago
    There’s a lot more to an MIT education than the credential. I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you (foot in the door), but people with that credential do still fail. And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”)
    - tjpnz 3y ago
      >And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”) Ever met someone who went to Harvard?
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - gumby 3y ago
        ha! As they saying goes: "Harvard people boast that they 'went to school in Cambridge' because they're embarrassed they couldn't get into MIT"
    - dragonwriter 3y ago
      > I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you If you think that isn't immensely useful, you are vastly underestimating the significance of other people's first pass filters in any person's opportunity for success.
      - gumby 3y ago
        But people only hear where you went to school when applying for a job. In any other kind of human interaction, who cares?
    - aklemm 3y ago
      It comes up frequently in several fields and on the East Coast. There’s an entire layer of our economy and government that all but requires the right college to be on your resume.
  - kiba 3y ago
    Most people are never taught to learn on their own or how to self manage the process of gaining knowledge.
- gumby 3y ago
  That was the point when Hal Abelson convinced MIT that they should support putting as many courses online as possible (having tenure does give you freedom to do good things): that the knowledge is free and if others can get value from it, that would be great! But it really is just the course material, with some classes also having lectures. It’s not at all the same as attending. A few years ago I needed more thermo than I had remembered from my time as an undergrad. I actually reviewed the same class number I’d taken decades before and it was hard yakka. I am sure I would not have gotten much out of it if I were just reviewing the material cold, without the in person MIT experience in my past.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    For some context, OCW was originally created for the ostensible purpose of providing teachers with the raw materials to create their own coursework. At the time audio and video classes weren't commonplace so it really came from a different place than MOOCs would eventually. (One also suspects that the OCW approach probably helped bypass some of the objections that jumping straight to MOOCs would have generated if it were even possible at the time.)
- tourmalinetaco 3y ago
  Knowledge is free, just go to the library. However the costs for facilities, equipment, staff, maintenance, etc is not. While college, especially American college, is overpriced (due in large part to the government), SOMEONE still needs to be paid. As the receiving end of the benefits it is only natural you also incur the burden, ideally equally split amongst your peers.
  - ekianjo 3y ago
    There is no need for in person facilities to learn. Thats 19th century thinking.
- paxys 3y ago
  If all the knowledge is free and online then why do you care about going to college? The answer is that college is about more than that. Hands-on learning, collaboration with other students, projects, labs, exams, extra curriculars all add up to a lot more than an online course.
  - happytiger 3y ago
    Perhaps. But it is hard to argue that despite all the open content available the current system is remarkably effective at keeping the higher education credential gate firmly closed for the very vast majority of humanity.
  - ekianjo 3y ago
    Thats why most collegue students are completely useless when they graduate? Because they are.
happytiger 3y ago
> That’s called going to college. This is legacy thinking. There’s no reason that in the Internet age this should be necessary anymore. The current college system is simply a tradition from a bygone era that hasn’t really adapted to the 21st century yet.

ekianjo 3y ago

> That’s called going to college. And thats too expensive for most people. Which is funny because knowledge is mostly free.

a_bonobo 3y ago
Knowledge is free; the time of people pushing the knowledge into you is not free. (Self-taught in my eyes usually means 'i've picked out the things that interest me and then learned those' - it's the job of the the paid people to force you to learn the things that don't directly interest you)
chongli 3y ago
Going to college is only nominally about acquiring knowledge. In reality it’s about acquiring a credential. All of the gatekeeping involved in admissions and examinations is to protect the value of the credential. The reason MOOC certificates are largely worthless as a credential is because there are NO safeguards against cheating.
- gumby 3y ago
  There’s a lot more to an MIT education than the credential. I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you (foot in the door), but people with that credential do still fail. And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”)
  - tjpnz 3y ago
    >And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”) Ever met someone who went to Harvard?
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - gumby 3y ago
      ha! As they saying goes: "Harvard people boast that they 'went to school in Cambridge' because they're embarrassed they couldn't get into MIT"
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    > I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you If you think that isn't immensely useful, you are vastly underestimating the significance of other people's first pass filters in any person's opportunity for success.
    - gumby 3y ago
      But people only hear where you went to school when applying for a job. In any other kind of human interaction, who cares?
  - aklemm 3y ago
    It comes up frequently in several fields and on the East Coast. There’s an entire layer of our economy and government that all but requires the right college to be on your resume.
- kiba 3y ago
  Most people are never taught to learn on their own or how to self manage the process of gaining knowledge.
gumby 3y ago
That was the point when Hal Abelson convinced MIT that they should support putting as many courses online as possible (having tenure does give you freedom to do good things): that the knowledge is free and if others can get value from it, that would be great! But it really is just the course material, with some classes also having lectures. It’s not at all the same as attending. A few years ago I needed more thermo than I had remembered from my time as an undergrad. I actually reviewed the same class number I’d taken decades before and it was hard yakka. I am sure I would not have gotten much out of it if I were just reviewing the material cold, without the in person MIT experience in my past.
- ghaff 3y ago
  For some context, OCW was originally created for the ostensible purpose of providing teachers with the raw materials to create their own coursework. At the time audio and video classes weren't commonplace so it really came from a different place than MOOCs would eventually. (One also suspects that the OCW approach probably helped bypass some of the objections that jumping straight to MOOCs would have generated if it were even possible at the time.)
tourmalinetaco 3y ago
Knowledge is free, just go to the library. However the costs for facilities, equipment, staff, maintenance, etc is not. While college, especially American college, is overpriced (due in large part to the government), SOMEONE still needs to be paid. As the receiving end of the benefits it is only natural you also incur the burden, ideally equally split amongst your peers.
- ekianjo 3y ago
  There is no need for in person facilities to learn. Thats 19th century thinking.
paxys 3y ago
If all the knowledge is free and online then why do you care about going to college? The answer is that college is about more than that. Hands-on learning, collaboration with other students, projects, labs, exams, extra curriculars all add up to a lot more than an online course.
- happytiger 3y ago
  Perhaps. But it is hard to argue that despite all the open content available the current system is remarkably effective at keeping the higher education credential gate firmly closed for the very vast majority of humanity.
- ekianjo 3y ago
  Thats why most collegue students are completely useless when they graduate? Because they are.

happytiger 3y ago

> That’s called going to college. This is legacy thinking. There’s no reason that in the Internet age this should be necessary anymore. The current college system is simply a tradition from a bygone era that hasn’t really adapted to the 21st century yet.