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I think the course was at the right difficulty considering that it was an on-line course targeted towards an audience with different backgrounds and skill level

I think the course was at the right difficulty considering that it was an on-line course targeted towards an audience with different backgrounds and skill levels. In fact, in the forums there were a few people complaining about it being too difficult. Plus a course that is not targeted towards full time students can't really have the same effort levels as one that it is. If the course turns out to be too easy for you, maybe it wasn't designed for you.

evoxed 14y ago
I don't think forum complaints are a very god indicator of the overall difficulty. Across all the courses these last couple months there have been a huge number of posts about X is too hard, I'm giving up, "y dunt pr0f mek qestuns ezr?", etc. For the most part they are all in the nature of people who aren't at all invested in their work but feel inclined to voice their problems, sometimes as a complaint or sometimes as a mild attack. I do occasionally go on the forums to answers people's questions but never to ask unless it's a site-specific bug– I'd rather ask someone at school or work, reddit, HN, whatever. What's unfortunate for the professors (or rather, whichever TA is putting together the report on user feedback from the forums) is that their sample will be biased towards people with no background, less resources, etc. It's not necessarily bad as long as they account for it, and I'm sure it's something they think about in terms getting more of the able students to stick around (like in some of the conceptual/theory/adv. topics subforums around). So I know you're not really arguing here but I just wanted to put that out there since you mentioned the forums. Carry on!
picklefish 14y ago
Great point. The quizzes and exams should not be hard, they should re-affirm your knowledge and let you move on. Making at test difficult for the sake of being difficult is not productive. People are learning this material to better themselves. If one wants difficulty one should dive deeper into the material elsewhere. Maybe Algorithms 2, or maybe a more advanced book altogether.
ashliana 14y ago
I suppose one option would be to also have optional homework for those seeking additional challenge?
- dhawalhs 14y ago
  There were some optional theory questions (ungraded) which were more challenging and could be discussed in the forums.

evoxed 14y ago

I don't think forum complaints are a very god indicator of the overall difficulty. Across all the courses these last couple months there have been a huge number of posts about X is too hard, I'm giving up, "y dunt pr0f mek qestuns ezr?", etc. For the most part they are all in the nature of people who aren't at all invested in their work but feel inclined to voice their problems, sometimes as a complaint or sometimes as a mild attack. I do occasionally go on the forums to answers people's questions but never to ask unless it's a site-specific bug– I'd rather ask someone at school or work, reddit, HN, whatever. What's unfortunate for the professors (or rather, whichever TA is putting together the report on user feedback from the forums) is that their sample will be biased towards people with no background, less resources, etc. It's not necessarily bad as long as they account for it, and I'm sure it's something they think about in terms getting more of the able students to stick around (like in some of the conceptual/theory/adv. topics subforums around). So I know you're not really arguing here but I just wanted to put that out there since you mentioned the forums. Carry on!

picklefish 14y ago

Great point. The quizzes and exams should not be hard, they should re-affirm your knowledge and let you move on. Making at test difficult for the sake of being difficult is not productive. People are learning this material to better themselves. If one wants difficulty one should dive deeper into the material elsewhere. Maybe Algorithms 2, or maybe a more advanced book altogether.

ashliana 14y ago

I suppose one option would be to also have optional homework for those seeking additional challenge?

dhawalhs 14y ago
There were some optional theory questions (ungraded) which were more challenging and could be discussed in the forums.