MIT free online courses

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:40 pm

This is fantastic...

Not all courses have video lectures but alot do...

Everything from physics to architecture(If anyone's inclined) to the proper design, construction, and maintenance associated with shoveling a pathway for a cities fecal matter without endangering the lives of millions

Free Online Course Materials | Courses | MIT OpenCourseWare

Are there any others?

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:26 pm

I'm watching the Yale Intro to Psych course online right now. I noticed MIT is doing the same thing. I think they did it before Yale. I just can't believe it took me this long to find them as I search for online lectures fairly often.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 12:07 am

K.Snyder;1380769 wrote: This is fantastic...

Not all courses have video lectures but alot do...

Everything from physics to architecture(If anyone's inclined) to the proper design, construction, and maintenance associated with shoveling a pathway for a cities fecal matter without endangering the lives of millions

Free Online Course Materials | Courses | MIT OpenCourseWare

Are there any others?

Thanks, I might well try some of these - just for the fun of it

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:11 am

koan;1380773 wrote: I'm watching the Yale Intro to Psych course online right now. I noticed MIT is doing the same thing. I think they did it before Yale. I just can't believe it took me this long to find them as I search for online lectures fairly often.

Last April marked MIT's 10th anniversary of open courseware sharing.

Here I was presuming nothing in the world is free...Perhaps there is hope left

Anyone want to take up Aeronautics and Astronautics? :yh_rotfl

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:14 am

Here are a couple other websites with free courses(I suppose we can call them courses)...

400 Free Online Courses from Top Universities | Open Culture This one has alot of material including free textbooks, audio books, movies, and free language lessons from Arabic to Welsh...

Academic Earth | Online Courses | Academic Video Lectures This is a good one too

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Sat May 05, 2012 8:30 am

Here's a nice site from the UK that also allows you to interact as opposed to just viewing lectures and notes. Distance Learning Courses and Adult Education - The Open University

So far I have yet to see lecture videos but the text seems very detailed and organized.

I believe you have to register but fees are not mandatory.

AnneBoleyn · Post by **AnneBoleyn** » Sat May 05, 2012 9:03 am

Kev:

Last April marked MIT's 10th anniversary of open courseware sharing.

Right. My son :-4 graduated MIT in May 2002 & the courses had begun a month before.

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Sat May 05, 2012 1:29 pm

AnneBoleyn;1393008 wrote: Kev:

Right. My son :-4 graduated MIT in May 2002 & the courses had begun a month before.That's very impressive, MIT is a great university. What does he do?

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Sat May 05, 2012 1:37 pm

Here is a website that lists 10 sites with free courses. I had found it earlier and haven't been able to follow all of the links within it Universities with the Best Free Online Courses

Here is a link to free textbooks Flat World Knowledge Catalog | College Textbooks | Read Free Online

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Wed May 09, 2012 6:29 am

It seems to me that there's alot of interest in online courses, for credit, from many universities.

Does anyone think this is a bad idea?

Online courses for credit, one might think, would free up time for professors so that they are not being overwhelmed with work(for very little pay compared to other occupations, which is about as ironic as anything I can think of) but the fact is that these lower level courses are taught mostly by grad students who virtually get paid nothing(Good for them!).

The delicate part, I think, is that these online courses should strictly be limited to 100 level courses and how does one ensure that no one is taking advantage? There would have to be on campus exams, no?

On campus exams would be enough for me to approve but that sort of goes against "distance learning". Even with on campus exams I think courses should still be limited and very basic. There's also the funds being necessary to record the lectures.

The main downside is that I think more online courses for credit will obscure the line between accredited and respected universities compared to for profit universities who promise job opportunities after graduation but they really just take your money and you're left to rot!

AnneBoleyn · Post by **AnneBoleyn** » Wed May 09, 2012 3:15 pm

K.Snyder;1393021 wrote: That's very impressive, MIT is a great university. What does he do?
He majored in physics. He teaches this & astronomy, etc. at the college level.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Wed May 09, 2012 6:14 pm

Last year, Stanford's course on artificial intelligence had 58,000+ students sign up. It had streaming video lectures, homework assignments, interactive quizzes, etc. They used the Google Moderator software for questions and feedback.

Many schools, from elementary through high school, are using the great videos and quizzes from Khan Academy. Some of the astronomy videos are amazing.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Thu May 10, 2012 1:33 pm

Study at the OU - USA

Do you not have an equivalent of the open university in the states? I know a few graduates of it - not everybody gets on well at school I know one dyslexic who left school with nothing convinced he was stupid but was diagnosed as an adult .

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Sun May 13, 2012 7:53 am

AnneBoleyn;1393324 wrote: He majored in physics. He teaches this & astronomy, etc. at the college level.That's very cool. Is he receiving his Ph.D anywhere?

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Sun May 13, 2012 7:58 am

gmc;1393395 wrote: Study at the OU - USA

Do you not have an equivalent of the open university in the states? I know a few graduates of it - not everybody gets on well at school I know one dyslexic who left school with nothing convinced he was stupid but was diagnosed as an adult .My eldest nephew attends OU, but that would be Ohio University.

In any case, what's more, is that my wife is dyslexic and she'd received her Ph.D in mathematics at Suny Binghamton. Her only faults I think is when she's giving me driving directions as I constantly have to look to see which arm she's referring but we manage to get where we need to be,..on occasion :yh_bigsmi

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Sun May 13, 2012 12:37 pm

K.Snyder;1393510 wrote: My eldest nephew attends OU, but that would be Ohio University.

In any case, what's more, is that my wife is dyslexic and she'd received her Ph.D in mathematics at Suny Binghamton. Her only faults I think is when she's giving me driving directions as I constantly have to look to see which arm she's referring but we manage to get where we need to be,..on occasion :yh_bigsmi

I find a surprising number of people can't tell their left from their right I've learned when asking directions to watch where they point rather than just listen to what they say. Dyslexia seems to go along with high intelligence - at least in my experience. It's also common in mild form - at least that's my opinion on the matter. Maybe I should look up some research on it.

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Mon May 14, 2012 9:00 am

gmc;1393395 wrote: Study at the OU - USA

Do you not have an equivalent of the open university in the states? I know a few graduates of it - not everybody gets on well at school I know one dyslexic who left school with nothing convinced he was stupid but was diagnosed as an adult .Ok, back to the question, so far I haven't came across a specific online university that gives credit for courses that lead to anything respected whatsoever. To me, it's common sense to know that it's hard enough to get jobs while having a degree at a well respected university ranging from a bachelors to a doctorate(Does anyone accept an associates degree anymore? Perhaps the healthcare industry but I doubt that will even last much longer).

There are many online "universities" that I think is a complete scam and should not be trusted at all.

There are many universities at the moment that are incorporating online courses for credit into their degree programs which no doubt will be accepted toward one's degree but I'd asked an earlier question if this might need to be limited to the entry level 100 courses. I suppose with today's technology there can be the needed one on one time with the professors but I think that's something that is just now being talked about on mass scale after the implementation of MIT and Harvard's online shareware courses for free use.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. Who knows perhaps with this new movement English literature will become a hot topic again

fuzzywuzzy · Post by **fuzzywuzzy** » Mon May 14, 2012 9:54 am

K.Snyder;1380769 wrote: This is fantastic...

Not all courses have video lectures but alot do...

Everything from physics to architecture(If anyone's inclined) to the proper design, construction, and maintenance associated with shoveling a pathway for a cities fecal matter without endangering the lives of millions

Don't knock it, it could come in handy one day.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Mon May 14, 2012 3:01 pm

One of the local community colleges has online courses for credit. They use timed tests, to prevent cheating. The quizzes are pretty cool, since the student gets instant feedback as to which questions they got wrong and what the correct answers are.

I would think that online courses would lend themselves well to graduate studies in some programs, where most of the work is in writing theses. These days almost all theses are available online and there is software readily available to all profs to detect copying.

I know that one of the Stanford profs, several years back, was working on a more secure method of preventing cheating for online courses. As I recall, he was using a modified version of the Firefox browser for his work.

Then, there are always proctored exams, where a student anywhere in the world can arrange to go in person to a local school/college where the exam has been sent.

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Tue May 15, 2012 4:25 am

Wandrin;1393610 wrote: One of the local community colleges has online courses for credit. They use timed tests, to prevent cheating. The quizzes are pretty cool, since the student gets instant feedback as to which questions they got wrong and what the correct answers are.

I would think that online courses would lend themselves well to graduate studies in some programs, where most of the work is in writing theses. These days almost all theses are available online and there is software readily available to all profs to detect copying.

I know that one of the Stanford profs, several years back, was working on a more secure method of preventing cheating for online courses. As I recall, he was using a modified version of the Firefox browser for his work.

Then, there are always proctored exams, where a student anywhere in the world can arrange to go in person to a local school/college where the exam has been sent.Sure, but my concern mostly involves the potential for anyone to sit in for the student that the test was original intended.

How do we know someone hasn't paid, an all-be-it competitive

, fee for the services of these specialists that take these exams? Exams of which consist of a very large portion of the students grade.

For Sam Eshaghoff, getting a high score on the SAT college admissions exam was more than a point of pride. It was a lucrative business. As Alison Stewart reports, other students paid Eshaghoff up to $2,500 each to take their tests using easily manufactured fake IDs. The Perfect Score: Cheating on the SAT - CBS News

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:17 am

K.Snyder;1393635 wrote: Sure, but my concern mostly involves the potential for anyone to sit in for the student that the test was original intended.

How do we know someone hasn't paid, an all-be-it competitive

, fee for the services of these specialists that take these exams? Exams of which consist of a very large portion of the students grade.

That, of course, is the big question. If I was tasked with designing such a system I'd probably start with facial recognition using the computer's camera. But I know of no such system yet.

Proctored exams would give some assurance, assuming that the proctors could be trusted to check ID.

Some of the classes I have taken have had a very large number of students in the lecture hall. I wonder how they prevent surrogate exam-takers. (I just audit classes these days, since I don't really care about additional degrees)

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Tue May 15, 2012 8:42 am

Wandrin;1393647 wrote: That, of course, is the big question. If I was tasked with designing such a system I'd probably start with facial recognition using the computer's camera. But I know of no such system yet.

Proctored exams would give some assurance, assuming that the proctors could be trusted to check ID.

Some of the classes I have taken have had a very large number of students in the lecture hall. I wonder how they prevent surrogate exam-takers. (I just audit classes these days, since I don't really care about additional degrees)I think we have a country of simple minded people that are always looking for the most convenient way of finding glory and it ends in buying houses they cannot afford and an education that fails before they even think about attempting to begin learning.

What we do here is ask everyone for the short term answers to questions that require more than one answer leading the children down a fork in the road that veers anywhere but up simply to satisfy what begins as an emphasis to boost their self confidence, then satisfying their parents because of it, and ultimately ignoring the problems when faced with a certain population demographic that isn't keeping up with an already mediocre standard at the expense of preserving the satisfaction of the child and parent.

K.Snyder;1393293 wrote: The main downside is that I think more online courses for credit will obscure the line between accredited and respected universities compared to for profit universities who promise job opportunities after graduation but they really just take your money and you're left to rot!

Online courses should be, in my opinion, limited to courses that should technically be readily understood by participants that have the capacity to learn the material on their own. Which is why these courses should be entirely free as seen by the very generous universities that offer them in this thread.

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:19 pm

I think that there are several segments of the education process that can benefit from online courses. The rave reviews from teachers and students about the lessons/quizzes from Khan Academy show some of the potential for elementary through high school level course work to augment classroom work.

The fact that employers want a college degree for even secretarial positions shows the need for community college level courses. Perhaps what is needed is a set of proficiency exams to validate the course work. Someone who can benefit from the flexible scheduling of online courses could probably find the time for in person proficiency exams if they would qualify a person for a better paying job.

But yes, online courses are of the most benefit to those who are disciplined enough to put in the time and effort to actually learn.

Nikkism · Post by **Nikkism** » Thu May 17, 2012 3:48 am

I dont think so...

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Thu May 17, 2012 8:11 am

Nikkism;1393820 wrote: I dont think so...Could you elaborate please...Which post are you basing your opinion?

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Thu May 17, 2012 8:39 am

Wandrin;1393714 wrote: The fact that employers want a college degree for even secretarial positions shows the need for community college level courses. I would think that any two year college shouldn't be necessary and that they only exist to "augment", as you put it, an already undereducated population.

It can change, this sub-par society we're producing. The US is too focused on short term profits to care about the long term stability of the nation and ultimately the economy.

We need a complete turn around in one's outlook on life. It needs to go from looking at education as results on test scores, which either stems from the idea of having the correct answer gives more monetary reward or it reinforces it. The former is a step backward and the latter a complete sidestep. This focus on having the correct answers is the wrong way to encourage children to learn. What we need is for children to continuously take what they've learned so that they want to apply it to new ideas. That want can only be achieved by not associating education with money.

A student asked my wife if she could move the day of her exams each week. That's surely not someone wanting to learn, it's the mindset of one who wants to ace a test.

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Fri May 18, 2012 9:08 am

itunes U can now be used on your computer as opposed to only ipod if anyone is interested. I've had more success finding free language courses here...

Wandrin · Post by **Wandrin** » Fri May 18, 2012 4:21 pm

K.Snyder;1393833 wrote: I would think that any two year college shouldn't be necessary and that they only exist to "augment", as you put it, an already undereducated population.

It can change, this sub-par society we're producing. The US is too focused on short term profits to care about the long term stability of the nation and ultimately the economy.

We need a complete turn around in one's outlook on life. It needs to go from looking at education as results on test scores, which either stems from the idea of having the correct answer gives more monetary reward or it reinforces it. The former is a step backward and the latter a complete sidestep. This focus on having the correct answers is the wrong way to encourage children to learn. What we need is for children to continuously take what they've learned so that they want to apply it to new ideas. That want can only be achieved by not associating education with money.

A student asked my wife if she could move the day of her exams each week. That's surely not someone wanting to learn, it's the mindset of one who wants to ace a test.

One of the valuable functions of community colleges are the certificate programs. Think of them as trade school programs for white collar jobs, such as bookkeeping and lab assistant or medical records clerk.

I agree that our educational system is lacking. Life does not consist of "subjects". It is an artificial way to learn that shapes the way one thinks. Most of the breakthroughs occur in the areas of overlap between "subjects". There is an overlap between philosophy, math, and physics for example.

To me, learning something new is its own reward. It wasn't difficult to arrange to be able to take free courses in exchange for guest lectures.

K.Snyder · Post by **K.Snyder** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:18 am

Here's an interview with Bill Gates and Sal Khan

Microsoft CEO Summit Innovation in Education - YouTube!