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The Professors Behind the MOOC Hype
- twoodfin 14y agoI have yet to take a full-on MOOC, but I'd be happy if universities like Yale and Stanford just recorded and uploaded more of their top lecturers' classes. The quality of much of what's on iTunes U is simply phenomenal, and I'm greedy. Obviously the production of video and audio is not cheap, but surely it requires less time, effort and money than producing a course suitable for 28,000 students! Random recommendation: Paul Freedman's lectures on the early Middle Ages are terrific. http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-210 http://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-210
- colin_jack 14y agoFor me there is a big difference, I prefer the focused 6 or 10 week approach taken by Coursera. Forces me to really keep on top of things week upon week, learning what I need to before completing whatever assignment they provide. Guess it depends what you are in it for though. Also, I like the look of that Middle Ages course. Ta for the link.
- la-conic 14y agoI'm taking the Algorithms I course mentioned in the article, I had been programming as a hobby and some small projects at work, and I feel like a huge gulf has been bridged in my understanding of programming. I feel like the programming assignments balance very well between being challenging without being overwhelming. The lectures and lecture notes are excellent and I prefer them to Sedgewick's book. Can't wait to start Algorithms II next week
- dbecker 14y agoBefore this, all of the articles I'd seen about MOOC's were vehemently (and baselessly) critical. It's nice to see them publish something informative.