8 ms·

Saylor Foundation: Computer Science

139 points by ekm2 14y ago

ColinWright 14y ago
From the FAQ: Will I be awarded a degree, diploma, or certificate? The Saylor Foundation is not an accredited institution and therefore cannot confer degrees. http://www.saylor.org/frequently-asked-questions/#q29 http://www.saylor.org/frequently-asked-questions/#q29
- EzGraphs 14y ago
  Accurate Title: Take Free Unaccredited Self-Study Online Classes that are part of many standard C.S. programs.
  - Legion 14y ago
    Or, more charitably, "Get a free CS education".
- arisAlexis 14y ago
  when u do this and post a link like that you turn you legit site into a scam
  - ColinWright 14y ago
    Not sure I understand what you're saying here. Let's recap. Someone posted a link to the Saylor site. That's prefectly reasonable, and it appears to be a perfectly valid site. It's not a scam, it costs nothing, but, as other comments point out, the content can be a little patchy. The title the submitter used was "Get a free CS degree". That's not true, because as the site itself says, it's not accredited, so it can't award degrees. That doesn't detract from the content, but it does mean the title is wrong and misleading. I posted a reply pointing out that the site itself says it doesn't give degrees. So, what was your point?
    - arisAlexis 14y ago
      my point is that the poster harms the site by posting this title. whats your question this is str8forward. next thread i post "free candy" but u must pay for candy -> fail. i actually like the site
ekm2 14y ago
They were featured in Forbes a while back http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2011/09/14/saylor-as-savior/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2011/09/14/saylor-as-savior...
speg 14y ago
As someone with a Science degree, but working as a software developer full time I've always wondered if I'm missing something by not having a CS degree. Certainly not enough to go back and get an actual degree, but would something like this would be worth my time?
- dccoolgai 14y ago
  Ask 10 people this, get 10 different answers based on their own decisions and experience. Since you asked, mine is this; Yes. Again - this is all based on my own empirical experience - but I've noticed that devs who don't have CS degrees are as good (or better at, sometimes) solving problems themselves...but they tend to fall on their faces (sometimes with disastrous professional consequences) when it comes to recognizing "archetypes/patterns" of problems that have already been solved or have proven approaches. When I was getting my CS degree I rolled my eyes in boredom at all the algorithm and data structure analysis courses, but years later I think that was probably the most valuable part. Glancing at this "curriculum" from Saylor it looks like they cover that stuff - so if you have extra time, go at it - I probably will myself just to brush up.
  - bonesinger 14y ago
    Coursera just started their algorithms course, Its well organized and practical. They use Java.
    - volci 14y ago
      There's also Udacity
  - ninh 14y ago
    ^ This. It depends on the kind of software you're interested in writing. Algorithms, datastructures & complexity analysis is imo arguably among the most valuable of the bunch due to its broad applicability. This is for instance particularly useful when writing software that needs to scale and perform well, e.g. server/system software. In short, I feel there is merit to each CS course but want to underline that it's information you can self educate yourself on should you be so inclined to do so. Attending a CS major however helps with keeping one motivated. That brings me to imo the most important point of attending a traditional CS major: meeting fellow CS'ers to do a startup with :) I think that has been the most valuable CS experience for me. That's something I kinda miss with this "new era" of online courses.
denzil_correa 14y ago
I must add that apart from CS they do have coursers for other disciplines like Chemistry, Art, Economics, Mathematics, Political Science etc. So, I guess the appropriate title would be "Free Education in multiple disciplines like CS, Mathematics etc."
mrcode925 14y ago
Not accredited, but I applaud the effort. However, I decided to check out CS 101 to see what they were offering. I am compelled to slog through the entire course to form a full opinion but the content seems to have been assembled from ninth grade term papers. The first two reading exercises contain very little in the form of correct grammar, proper spelling, and coherent thought.
- cantankerous 14y ago
  For what it's worth, the compilers course seems to be fairly well put together for a free course.
khakimov 14y ago
Don't forget to close git directory from the web.
jamesjguthrie 14y ago
I might eventually do some proper computer science study but I don't feel like I need it for now. I'm currently studying for a degree in motorsport & design engineering and when I graduate I intend to build products using the knowledge from there. Knowing how to code properly is all fine and well but getting an industry specific degree and being able to code a product for use in it, I feel, is much better.
praveenhm 14y ago
It is good to check out the list of courses they offered.
LilValleyBigEgo 14y ago
Don't be ridiculous, if you could get a degree for free how would hiring managers know who to discriminate against?
derekp7 14y ago
This site appears to fulfill one of the problems I've had with the various open courseware sites -- where to get started, and how to organize the learning. However, I'd like to see it go a step further, and organize the individual courses in a particular degree program into a real schedule. For example, I'd like to feed in how many hours a week I have to study, and have it produce a schedule of which courses should be taken together, in which order, and possibly a class schedule -- "spend one hour on section 2.3 of class foo, next spend 1 hour on section 1.7 of class bar", for example. Or at least break out the classes in groups that can be taken together, similar to semesters in a regular college program. Anyone have links to similar types of sites with a good education roadmap?
kmlymi 14y ago
Is there a University that offers distance learning for a CS Degree (not necessarily free)?
- stonnyfrogs 14y ago
  http://umuc.edu http://umuc.edu
- simonbrown 14y ago
  https://www.open.ac.uk/ https://www.open.ac.uk/ offers a "Computing and IT" degree and mathematics degrees, which I believe you can study from outside the UK. I'm not sure how much CS there is in them, though. stonnyfrogs (hellbanned) suggested: http://www.umuc.edu/ http://www.umuc.edu/
  - simonbrown 14y ago
    Looking at UMUC, it seems it only offers a few subjects, which doesn't include CS.
    - shaunxcode 14y ago
      http://www.umuc.edu/undergrad/ugprograms/upload/CSCI-12-13.pdf http://www.umuc.edu/undergrad/ugprograms/upload/CSCI-12-13.p...
gavinlynch 14y ago
Love the idea. If only they were accredited. I don't need to learn CS. I just need that piece of paper as I skipped a step and went directly into the workforce... shrugs
- adambard 14y ago
  So you want the exact opposite of this?
goggles99 14y ago
Is it just me? or is this just a bunch of links to articles and blog posts from around the net? I think that it is really cool, but should not be misrepresented as Computer Science academia.
dlevine 14y ago
I believe that Michael Saylor announce this about 13 year ago (in 1999). If I remember correctly, he had a column in Newsweek or Time talking about it. Then Microstrategy's stock tanked (they had to restate their earnings), and his fortune pretty much vanished overnight. It's interesting to see how much has happened in the past 13 years, and how technology has made this kind of thing feasible. The proliferation of high-quality online educational companies (Khan Academy, Udacity, Coursera, etc...) has made it possible to get a real education online. It isn't quite equivalent to live education, but the best online education is definitely getting close.
josephjrobison 14y ago
So if I were to spend 10 hours a week teaching myself Javascript, PHP, Python or 10 hours a week studying computer science what would you recommend that would benefit me the most in 5 years and allow me to build web applications from scratch?

139 points by ekm2 14y ago

From the FAQ: Will I be awarded a degree, diploma, or certificate? The Saylor Foundation is not an accredited institution and therefore cannot confer degrees. http://www.saylor.org/frequently-asked-questions/#q29 http://www.saylor.org/frequently-asked-questions/#q29

EzGraphs 14y ago
Accurate Title: Take Free Unaccredited Self-Study Online Classes that are part of many standard C.S. programs.
- Legion 14y ago
  Or, more charitably, "Get a free CS education".
arisAlexis 14y ago
when u do this and post a link like that you turn you legit site into a scam
- ColinWright 14y ago
  Not sure I understand what you're saying here. Let's recap. Someone posted a link to the Saylor site. That's prefectly reasonable, and it appears to be a perfectly valid site. It's not a scam, it costs nothing, but, as other comments point out, the content can be a little patchy. The title the submitter used was "Get a free CS degree". That's not true, because as the site itself says, it's not accredited, so it can't award degrees. That doesn't detract from the content, but it does mean the title is wrong and misleading. I posted a reply pointing out that the site itself says it doesn't give degrees. So, what was your point?
  - arisAlexis 14y ago
    my point is that the poster harms the site by posting this title. whats your question this is str8forward. next thread i post "free candy" but u must pay for candy -> fail. i actually like the site

ekm2 14y ago

They were featured in Forbes a while back http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2011/09/14/saylor-as-savior/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2011/09/14/saylor-as-savior...

speg 14y ago

As someone with a Science degree, but working as a software developer full time I've always wondered if I'm missing something by not having a CS degree. Certainly not enough to go back and get an actual degree, but would something like this would be worth my time?

dccoolgai 14y ago
Ask 10 people this, get 10 different answers based on their own decisions and experience. Since you asked, mine is this; Yes. Again - this is all based on my own empirical experience - but I've noticed that devs who don't have CS degrees are as good (or better at, sometimes) solving problems themselves...but they tend to fall on their faces (sometimes with disastrous professional consequences) when it comes to recognizing "archetypes/patterns" of problems that have already been solved or have proven approaches. When I was getting my CS degree I rolled my eyes in boredom at all the algorithm and data structure analysis courses, but years later I think that was probably the most valuable part. Glancing at this "curriculum" from Saylor it looks like they cover that stuff - so if you have extra time, go at it - I probably will myself just to brush up.
- bonesinger 14y ago
  Coursera just started their algorithms course, Its well organized and practical. They use Java.
  - volci 14y ago
    There's also Udacity
- ninh 14y ago
  ^ This. It depends on the kind of software you're interested in writing. Algorithms, datastructures & complexity analysis is imo arguably among the most valuable of the bunch due to its broad applicability. This is for instance particularly useful when writing software that needs to scale and perform well, e.g. server/system software. In short, I feel there is merit to each CS course but want to underline that it's information you can self educate yourself on should you be so inclined to do so. Attending a CS major however helps with keeping one motivated. That brings me to imo the most important point of attending a traditional CS major: meeting fellow CS'ers to do a startup with :) I think that has been the most valuable CS experience for me. That's something I kinda miss with this "new era" of online courses.

denzil_correa 14y ago

I must add that apart from CS they do have coursers for other disciplines like Chemistry, Art, Economics, Mathematics, Political Science etc. So, I guess the appropriate title would be "Free Education in multiple disciplines like CS, Mathematics etc."

mrcode925 14y ago

Not accredited, but I applaud the effort. However, I decided to check out CS 101 to see what they were offering. I am compelled to slog through the entire course to form a full opinion but the content seems to have been assembled from ninth grade term papers. The first two reading exercises contain very little in the form of correct grammar, proper spelling, and coherent thought.

cantankerous 14y ago
For what it's worth, the compilers course seems to be fairly well put together for a free course.

khakimov 14y ago

Don't forget to close git directory from the web.

jamesjguthrie 14y ago

I might eventually do some proper computer science study but I don't feel like I need it for now. I'm currently studying for a degree in motorsport & design engineering and when I graduate I intend to build products using the knowledge from there. Knowing how to code properly is all fine and well but getting an industry specific degree and being able to code a product for use in it, I feel, is much better.

praveenhm 14y ago

It is good to check out the list of courses they offered.

LilValleyBigEgo 14y ago

Don't be ridiculous, if you could get a degree for free how would hiring managers know who to discriminate against?

derekp7 14y ago

This site appears to fulfill one of the problems I've had with the various open courseware sites -- where to get started, and how to organize the learning. However, I'd like to see it go a step further, and organize the individual courses in a particular degree program into a real schedule. For example, I'd like to feed in how many hours a week I have to study, and have it produce a schedule of which courses should be taken together, in which order, and possibly a class schedule -- "spend one hour on section 2.3 of class foo, next spend 1 hour on section 1.7 of class bar", for example. Or at least break out the classes in groups that can be taken together, similar to semesters in a regular college program. Anyone have links to similar types of sites with a good education roadmap?

kmlymi 14y ago

Is there a University that offers distance learning for a CS Degree (not necessarily free)?

stonnyfrogs 14y ago
http://umuc.edu http://umuc.edu
simonbrown 14y ago
https://www.open.ac.uk/ https://www.open.ac.uk/ offers a "Computing and IT" degree and mathematics degrees, which I believe you can study from outside the UK. I'm not sure how much CS there is in them, though. stonnyfrogs (hellbanned) suggested: http://www.umuc.edu/ http://www.umuc.edu/
- simonbrown 14y ago
  Looking at UMUC, it seems it only offers a few subjects, which doesn't include CS.
  - shaunxcode 14y ago
    http://www.umuc.edu/undergrad/ugprograms/upload/CSCI-12-13.pdf http://www.umuc.edu/undergrad/ugprograms/upload/CSCI-12-13.p...

gavinlynch 14y ago

Love the idea. If only they were accredited. I don't need to learn CS. I just need that piece of paper as I skipped a step and went directly into the workforce... shrugs

adambard 14y ago
So you want the exact opposite of this?

goggles99 14y ago

Is it just me? or is this just a bunch of links to articles and blog posts from around the net? I think that it is really cool, but should not be misrepresented as Computer Science academia.

dlevine 14y ago

I believe that Michael Saylor announce this about 13 year ago (in 1999). If I remember correctly, he had a column in Newsweek or Time talking about it. Then Microstrategy's stock tanked (they had to restate their earnings), and his fortune pretty much vanished overnight. It's interesting to see how much has happened in the past 13 years, and how technology has made this kind of thing feasible. The proliferation of high-quality online educational companies (Khan Academy, Udacity, Coursera, etc...) has made it possible to get a real education online. It isn't quite equivalent to live education, but the best online education is definitely getting close.

josephjrobison 14y ago

So if I were to spend 10 hours a week teaching myself Javascript, PHP, Python or 10 hours a week studying computer science what would you recommend that would benefit me the most in 5 years and allow me to build web applications from scratch?