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On the other hand, Very few people can learn math on their own; you need a gun at your head in the form of a course... http://www.cs.indiana.edu/mit.research.h
by tjr 12y ago
On the other hand, Very few people can learn math on their own; you need a gun at your head in the form of a course...
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/mit.research.how.to/section3.5.html http://www.cs.indiana.edu/mit.research.how.to/section3.5.htm...
I took way more math courses than my CS degree required just because I wanted to -- so I enjoy math -- but I still benefited from the pressure exerted on me by being in a formal course. I don't believe I would have studied as deeply on my own just with the textbook, nor do I believe I would have studied as deeply with today's MOOCs.
I don't know if it was the threat of wasting tuition money, or the concern about getting a bad grade on my transcript, or the camaraderie of my in-person peers, or what, but for some topics I know good and well that the traditional college course helped me stick with learning the material.
- sanderjd 12y agoI guess YMMV. I tend to work harder at MOOCs now than I did at classes in college, making sure I understand derivations of formulas rather than just memorizing the formula for use on a test. I don't really know how my college-aged self would have behaved though. I've also found the for-pay structured certificate-granting aspect of what Coursera calls "specializations" is a decent motivator, along the lines of tuition and grades at college. Definitely, camaraderie (and similar: networking) is a major component of the college experience that is missing (or spoken to in a very token way) from the online experience.