The problem with MOOCs
The problem with MOOCs
(OP)
I like MOOCs (Mass online open course). The better ones deliver 101 style courses, using a mixture of tedious video lectures, random pdfs and powerpoints, multichoice tests, and coding in small environments.
Sadly they think that you can sign up (and pay for) to an accredited course, and you will get a jolly little certificate showing that you completed the MOOC. Unfortunately, given the alternative, it is entirely possible to get a good grade on the accredited course by fairly obvious means without actually studying anything. I recently completed a problem set using a triangular search which took 7 iterations. I was more interested in the probability of answering the question within N steps than whatever tedious point the question was making.
So, a warning to all interviewers out there, a certificate from a MOOC means nothing. And a request to the MOOC people out there, sort this out please.
Sadly they think that you can sign up (and pay for) to an accredited course, and you will get a jolly little certificate showing that you completed the MOOC. Unfortunately, given the alternative, it is entirely possible to get a good grade on the accredited course by fairly obvious means without actually studying anything. I recently completed a problem set using a triangular search which took 7 iterations. I was more interested in the probability of answering the question within N steps than whatever tedious point the question was making.
So, a warning to all interviewers out there, a certificate from a MOOC means nothing. And a request to the MOOC people out there, sort this out please.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: The problem with MOOCs
OTOH - I've also watched a large number of courses on YouTube from MIT, Stanford, and UCLA/UCB and agree that the results are truly mixed. The largest problem is that many of them are recorded from classes where there are labs, so the lecture is only 30% of the information the course requires. It's a bit frustrating to have the lecturer skip from a grade-school level description to a Masters level, sometimes in the same sentence, when it's clear they can do that because the gap is covered elsewhere. And UCB can kiss my butt for not creating playlists for their courses and instead just putting all 10,000 or whatever into one pile so that finding the initial videos is nearly impossible.
One model that I would like to see more of is that from Kahn Academy. It is evidence based grading and the only passing score is 100% for some number of consecutive tries. They use question generators so there is no means to 'cheat' by copying or memorizing answers. One can review the progress etc. Look for Sal Kahn's book about his concept that, for pure academics, a guy in a dirt-floor hut should get the same respect at completing a course as a guy who goes to a fancy prep school or big name university with both having demonstrated mastery of the same level of material.
At the bottom of the list are garbage courses with generic scripts. PillSkort or some name like that. Pillskort is very popular with the HR crowd for claiming to provide in-house opportunities, but I can guarantee no one in HR has ever tried a course from them, but they like the sales pitch.
RE: The problem with MOOCs
The accreditation thing I thought was if you were willing to pay more real review of homework and exams and additional course work. I finished my masters through an outreach programs, which is different but I really do believe, at least with graduate work, online learning is the future. Undergrad, I don't know. You are learning how to learn in your undergrad. In graduate school, you figure it out your self witha little guidance.
I don't think MOOCs area cure all but for someone boning up on a topic by themselves for work or whatever, they are excellent.
RE: The problem with MOOCs
RE: The problem with MOOCs
RE: The problem with MOOCs
I'll look at Kahn, sounds like the right approach.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: The problem with MOOCs