# What are you studying on Coursera?



## fractionMan (Jan 28, 2013)

I've not looked at online learning for a fair few years now. The breadth and quality of the materials (outside the OU) appears to have improved dramatically.

To brush up on network/graph processing I'm about to sign up for this: https://www.coursera.org/course/sna . 



> Social Network AnalysisLada Adamic
> This course will use social network analysis, both its theory and computational tools, to make sense of the social and information networks that have been fueled and rendered accessible by the internet.
> 
> Next Session:
> ...


 
The 'social' part is co-incidental, I'm interested in the general network analysis components and the meat of the course focuses on that.


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## fractionMan (Jan 28, 2013)

Nobody interested in MOOCs (Massive open online course)? On top of coursera there's things like https://www.edx.org/ and others. There's a ton of great content out there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course

Universities are starting to accept them as transfer credits too: https://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/georgia-state-u-to-grant-course-credit-for-moocs/41795 and I can see an alternative (and less costly) route into gaining degrees appearing.


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## fractionMan (Jan 28, 2013)

I've just started ploughing through this http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/networks-book/networks-book.pdf

It's 819 pages of graph & network theory explained in fairly simple terms. Well worth a peek. Heard of the six degrees of separation? It's about that & related topics. You can get just the (accessible imo) chapter on graphs here:http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/networks-book/networks-book-ch02.pdf


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## xenon (Jan 28, 2013)

As mentioned in music Making forum, me and few others just signed up for Introduction to Digital Sound Design.

I'm gonna look at some of their other courses later but IIRC you can only do one at a time.


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## TruXta (Jan 28, 2013)

fractionMan said:


> I've not looked at online learning for a fair few years now. The breadth and quality of the materials (outside the OU) appears to have improved dramatically.
> 
> To brush up on network/graph processing I'm about to sign up for this: https://www.coursera.org/course/sna .
> 
> ...


I signed up for that one - it's really good! I didn't do it properly tho, was travelling for most of it. I think I might just sign up again.


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## aqua (Jan 29, 2013)

I've just started looking at MOOCs but I'm struggling to see the point  What do you get for doing it? Is it for personal reasons or for work? Who recognises the courses?


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> I've just started looking at MOOCs but I'm struggling to see the point  What do you get for doing it? Is it for personal reasons or for work? Who recognises the courses?


 
I'm doing it for a variety of reasons. Firstly, because my new job requires knowledge of graphs & networks and I'd like to brush up on the theory. But also because I'm a bit of a nerd, the topic's interesting & structured learning works well for me.  There are a whole bunch of courses I'd like to do if I had time.

I'd point anyone who's thinking of learning computer programming in the MOOC direction.

Some american universities are now accepting MOOC courses as transfer credit & I expect to see that continue. American universities work differently to UK ones around the whole credit thing so it fits in better over there.


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## TruXta (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> I've just started looking at MOOCs but I'm struggling to see the point  What do you get for doing it? Is it for personal reasons or for work? Who recognises the courses?


Well, some of them give you a certificate of sorts, but they're not formally recognised by other HE institutions. I'm looking into it for work mainly, and also for my (almost dead) PhD. I think it's gonna be the wave of the future, as people can't afford a "proper" uni any more.

As for doing this for work - depends what you learn and what kinda qualifications you're looking at in your profession. A lot of the courses are coding and computer science, in that field practical skills usually trump diplomas anyway.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

This sounds like an excellent programming primer: https://www.coursera.org/course/interactivepython 



> This course is designed to help students with very little or no computing background learn the basics of building simple interactive applications. ​...​The primary method for learning the course material will be to work through multiple "mini-projects" in Python.  To make this class enjoyable, these projects will include building fun games such as Pong, Blackjack, and Asteroids.​​


​


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## aqua (Jan 29, 2013)

TruXta said:


> Well, some of them give you a certificate of sorts, but they're not formally recognised by other HE institutions. I'm looking into it for work mainly, and also for my (almost dead) PhD. I think it's gonna be the wave of the future, as people can't afford a "proper" uni any more.
> 
> As for doing this for work - depends what you learn and what kinda qualifications you're looking at in your profession. A lot of the courses are coding and computer science, in that field practical skills usually trump diplomas anyway.


See this is the thing, nothing in education is free. Looking at the business models for MOOCs yesterday everything leads to payment at some point or no one would create the courses. Whilst it might not be as expensive as attending the Uni, it certainly won't be free (and not far off full cost either). It's great in terms of enabling people who are remote/work hours that don't suit etc but I really am struggling to see the long term future. I don't have an issue with the technology or the idea, I think it's pretty cool to be part of a class that has over 40k students, but in terms of learning I'm not sure it can replace what a uni does. There will still be the elite uni's, there will still be all the other uni's too, is this not offering something that in reality doesn't do what it says? Could someone sign up thinking they're getting a quality education but in reality they're not?


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## TruXta (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> See this is the thing, nothing in education is free. Looking at the business models for MOOCs yesterday everything leads to payment at some point or no one would create the courses. Whilst it might not be as expensive as attending the Uni, it certainly won't be free (and not far off full cost either). It's great in terms of enabling people who are remote/work hours that don't suit etc but I really am struggling to see the long term future. I don't have an issue with the technology or the idea, I think it's pretty cool to be part of a class that has over 40k students, but in terms of learning I'm not sure it can replace what a uni does. There will still be the elite uni's, there will still be all the other uni's too, is this not offering something that in reality doesn't do what it says? Could someone sign up thinking they're getting a quality education but in reality they're not?


Coursera is 100% free, for now at least. As for quality education - you don't need to go to uni to get that. Thousands have learnt math from the Khan Academy. It's not formal education of course, where you end up with diplomas.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

My experience at a brick and mortar uni was having someone droning on at you a few hours a week and spending the rest of the time getting on with things in isolation. Little to no learning materials beyond "go read that book". I'm fairly certain this is a common experience.

My time at the Open Uni was characterised by very little contact with other students but fantastic learning materials.  I can't recommend it highly enough.

Properly done I think MOOCs could well be the future of non-elite higher ed. Sure they'll have to monetise them at some point and I'm not sure how they'll do that other than by selling people accredited qualifications - but they'll be a ton cheaper to produce per student for the unis and a whole lot cheaper to buy.


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## aqua (Jan 29, 2013)

TruXta said:


> Coursera is 100% free, for now at least. As for quality education - you don't need to go to uni to get that. Thousands have learnt math from the Khan Academy. It's not formal education of course, where you end up with diplomas.


No I'm not saying there isn't a place, just from my point of view I'm struggling with it  Coursera, Futurelearn, Udacity - all offer free courses I'm not saying they don't, but I'm looking at this from a Uni point of view, and that's what is confusing me  My concern is that people think it *is* formal learning. Look at MIT, they issue certificates from MITx for completion of their MOOCs but does that hold the currency that students might think it does.

I don't think I'm explaining myself very well


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## aqua (Jan 29, 2013)

None of this is to say that when I've finished my phd I have several MOOCs already lined up in my "ooooo that looks interesting" list of things to do


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

edx says this:



> *Will certificates be awarded?*
> 
> Yes. Online learners who demonstrate mastery of subjects can earn a certificate of mastery. Certificates will be issued by edX under the name of the underlying "X University" from where the course originated, i.e. HarvardX, _MITx_ or BerkeleyX. For the courses in Fall 2012, those certificates will be free. There is a plan to charge a modest fee for certificates in the future.




What they'll be worth to employers?  Not sure.


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## TruXta (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> No I'm not saying there isn't a place, just from my point of view I'm struggling with it  Coursera, Futurelearn, Udacity - all offer free courses I'm not saying they don't, but I'm looking at this from a Uni point of view, and that's what is confusing me  My concern is that people think it *is* formal learning. Look at MIT, they issue certificates from MITx for completion of their MOOCs but does that hold the currency that students might think it does.
> 
> I don't think I'm explaining myself very well


 
Right I get you. There might well be a mismatch between what a lot of people think they're getting in terms of formal qualifications, and the fact they don't actually get that. But looking at the Coursera page for instance there's no mention of qualifications at all.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> No I'm not saying there isn't a place, just from my point of view I'm struggling with it  Coursera, Futurelearn, Udacity - all offer free courses I'm not saying they don't, but I'm looking at this from a Uni point of view, and that's what is confusing me  My concern is that people think it *is* formal learning. Look at MIT, they issue certificates from MITx for completion of their MOOCs but does that hold the currency that students might think it does.
> 
> I don't think I'm explaining myself very well


 
I see where you're coming from, the "why would unis do this" position.  I guess they see a broader market for their content and have plans to either use it for publicity - entice people into proper degrees or to monetise it at a later date.


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## TruXta (Jan 29, 2013)

fractionMan said:


> I see where you're coming from, the "why would unis do this" position. I guess they see a broader market for their content and have plans to either use it for publicity - entice people into proper degrees or to monetise it at a later date.


Possibly they'll do a "full" and "light" version at some later stage, where the full version is paid for and gives you a proper recognized certificate, and the ligth version is free/cheap and doesn't give you a credit-worthy certificate.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

Paying for 'assessment' would work.  Study for free, take the exams at a price.


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## aqua (Jan 29, 2013)

fractionMan said:


> I see where you're coming from, the "why would unis do this" position. I guess they see a broader market for their content and have plans to either use it for publicity - entice people into proper degrees or to monetise it at a later date.


Yes that's what we were discussing yesterday, a taster is free then the rest you pay for. Some are considering paying for the certificate, some for other membership or a transcript etc, so you could study the course and drop out. Of course certification would require some form of assessment and that's really complicated for MOOCs (for it to be meaningful assessment anyway).

Some really interesting stuff out there without a doubt but whether students (I'm less bothered about employers but they're worth a mention ) can understand the system as it were, is something that concerns me.


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## aqua (Jan 29, 2013)

fractionMan said:


> Paying for 'assessment' would work. Study for free, take the exams at a price.


Creating a MOOC isn't a short and quick thing though, not for a indepth look at a subject. If all the students didn't take the exam someone has to cover the cost. Loss leader tasters seem to be the way some places are heading.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> Yes that's what we were discussing yesterday, a taster is free then the rest you pay for. Some are considering paying for the certificate, some for other membership or a transcript etc, so you could study the course and drop out. Of course certification would require some form of assessment and that's really complicated for MOOCs (for it to be meaningful assessment anyway).
> 
> Some really interesting stuff out there without a doubt but whether students (I'm less bothered about employers but they're worth a mention ) can understand the system as it were, is something that concerns me.


 
I think assesment of any massive online program would have to consist of exams that require you to be physicaly present, simply to give the test any meaning and prevent cheating

The OU requires a mix of continuous assessment and exams, which I think is the correct balance.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> Creating a MOOC isn't a short and quick thing though, not for a indepth look at a subject. If all the students didn't take the exam someone has to cover the cost. Loss leader tasters seem to be the way some places are heading.


 
I'm guessing that these courses are ones that they already run.  Sure it takes effort to put it online and adapt it, but I doubt that these have been written from scratch.


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## TruXta (Jan 29, 2013)

aqua said:


> Of course certification would require some form of assessment and that's really complicated for MOOCs (for it to be meaningful assessment anyway).


 
Again, depends on the course. More quantitative disciplines can easily automate a large chunk of assessment (e.g. programming, math, social network analysis etc). Much harder for humanities and social sciences of course.


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## zenie (Jan 29, 2013)

MIT have some good study stuff that I'd got but haven't had time to sit through the lectures or do any of the coursework.  This was biological sciences though....will have a look at coursera, I reckon it's always good to keep your hand in if you have time 

https://www.coursera.org/#course/womencivilrights

itunes university also seemed to have a lot of this kind of thing I recall


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## King Biscuit Time (Jan 29, 2013)

In a lot of subjects there's precious little teaching experience for post-docs/researchers (I teach 45 minutes a year, and that's because the module leader knows I enjoy it!). 

Organising one of these modules might be a good experience for someone looking for a lectureship perhaps? Certainly a bit of motivation to put one together.


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Jan 29, 2013)

Where I work we're (sort of) looking at doing one. The motivation would mostly be to use it as an introduction to our courses - the department teaches relatively unusual subjects but there's a feeling people go on with it when they get into it - but also, from what I can gather, a feeling that it's 'the future' in some sense and we need to be considering it.


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## Mapped (Jan 29, 2013)

I'm planning on dipping in to this one on information visualisation from Indiana Uni http://ivmooc.cns.iu.edu/ 

I don't really care about badges and qualifications at the moment, I'm after some techniques and knowledge that'll be useful for bits of work. 

I'm not sure how they're planning on financing it either



> *How much does it cost to take the course?*
> Nothing, the course is free. All of the software and services required in this course are free. Throughout the entirety of this course we will use open-source software and/or freely available services to complete the work required to obtain a letter of accomplishment and badge.


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## fractionMan (Jan 29, 2013)

and a _badge_!


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## Mapped (Jan 29, 2013)

I know, great incentive. 

Most likely it'll be one of these types, or similar http://openbadges.org/en-US/


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## fractionMan (Jan 30, 2013)

Interesting article here about the impact of MOOCs on universities and the possible switch to focusing on teaching for a change (rather than pouring all the effort into research). http://edudemic.com/2013/01/what-moocs-will-wont-and-might-do/ 

Which would be a Good Thing imo.  

In my mind, the problems with teaching quality at universities is that the skills required to teach are vastly different from those required to research, yet the same people are employed to do both.  For what I've seen academics they dislike one side or the other but are forced to do it anyway, to the detriment of both.


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## aqua (Jan 30, 2013)

fractionMan said:


> Interesting article here about the impact of MOOCs on universities and the possible switch to focusing on teaching for a change (rather than pouring all the effort into research). http://edudemic.com/2013/01/what-moocs-will-wont-and-might-do/
> 
> Which would be a Good Thing imo.
> 
> In my mind, the problems with teaching quality at universities is that the skills required to teach are vastly different from those required to research, yet the same people are employed to do both. For what I've seen academics they dislike one side or the other but are forced to do it anyway, to the detriment of both.


and the change to everyone being a uni and therefore in the same arena has made this a million times worse imvho


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## Fuchs66 (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm doing the first of 4 Organic Chemistry courses with Coursera (also registered for one on Nuclear Science). Just started this week and so far seems ok, I'm doing this to revise stuff I learnt long ago but have since forgotten through lack of use, to keep me busy, to help with work and purely for the sake of learning, I like the idea and think it can be usueful so long as there is an awareness of its limitations.


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## idumea (Feb 2, 2013)

I'm doing the Astrobiology course on Coursera (for fun) and will be starting Natural Language Processimg (testing potential dostant career plans.)  My job is very boring and I'm a bit worried about going a tiny bit mad if I don't do anything think-y my spare time.


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## Dovydaitis (Feb 3, 2013)

Hmm, interesting. These could keep me going during gap between degree and masters...


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## sim667 (Feb 5, 2013)

I really need to do a teaching qualification like a DTLLS. Has anyone seen any courses like that online?


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## Fez909 (Feb 5, 2013)

Good thread. I meant to start one like it, but more on what's available, rather than what we're studying. Perhaps this could be used for that?

I'm doing the Introduction to Digital Sound Design on Coursera and I'm signed up to HackDesign which has a slightly different way of working. You get an email each week with the lesson on it, rather than going to a website to watch videos.  It's much less rigid in that respect.  It's for teaching design skills to programmers.

I'm also waiting for HTML5 Game Design to start on Udacity, but it's been delayed a few times already. The latest 'start date' was today...


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## sim667 (Feb 5, 2013)

Fez909 you've just made me think, I've been tempted at having a bash at some music production..... maybe an online course would do me good...... how are you finding the sound design one?


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## Fez909 (Feb 5, 2013)

sim667 said:


> Fez909 you've just made me think, I've been tempted at having a bash at some music production..... maybe an online course would do me good...... how are you finding the sound design one?


 
It won't teach you how to make music. It's more about the principles behind digital sound, but I think it'd be a great primer. It's only 4 weeks long, and we've only done 1 week, so you'd have no trouble catching up.

I'm thinking/hoping that there's going to be some more in depth courses after this one so this should be worth doing to give you something to build on for the later courses.

Otherwise, there's LOADS of tutorials out there for specific programs etc., so just have a play about with Reason, Logic, Ableton etc. and see which one you like and just dive in!  Searching things like "dub techno synths in ableton" on youtube gets you some decent tutorials which might give you some hints on how to do things. There's a lot of shit out there as well, though, of course.


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## sim667 (Feb 5, 2013)

Yeah I think im gonna get a copy of logic first, and then take it from there. Ive played with reason before, but thought a structured online course might be good to give me the basics.... there must be one somewhere.


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## baldrick (Feb 5, 2013)

Signed up for 'passion driven statistics' (lol). Naff name but the idea of doing some research on an area that interests is a good one. Wanted to do Programming 101 but nothing scheduled.


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## Fez909 (Feb 5, 2013)

sim667 said:


> Yeah I think im gonna get a copy of logic first, and then take it from there. Ive played with reason before, but thought a structured online course might be good to give me the basics.... there must be one somewhere.


 
This looks good but is paid: http://www.sonicacademy.com/

Loads of their videos are on YouTube for free, including some very basic ones, so maybe give them a bash?


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## idumea (Feb 5, 2013)

Apparently the class on online education design has been cancelled due to poor design 



> Maybe it was inevitable that one of the new massive open online courses would crash. After all, MOOCs are being launched with considerable speed, not to mention hype. But MOOC advocates might have preferred the collapse of a course other than the one that was suspended this weekend, one week into instruction: "Fundamentals of Online Education: Planning and Application."
> 
> Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/04/coursera-forced-call-mooc-amid-complaints-about-course#ixzz2K27Ys8z1
> Inside Higher Ed​


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## sim667 (Feb 12, 2013)

I missed this E-learning and digital cameras, it would have been good as I've been thinking about doing a postgrad course in a related subject 


Ive enrolled in does the camera lie though


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 2, 2013)

I am now learning about statistics from an alarming Canadian.


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## sorearm (Apr 3, 2013)

King Biscuit Time said:


> I am now learning about statistics from an alarming Canadian.


 
me too! I'm doing the statistics course on Coursera!


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 3, 2013)

Cool!

I wasn't necessarily going to do one that would help me with work, but the stats one did seem like it would be useful - particularly as I'm  getting to grips with R alongside the course.

Anyway - that bloke is freaking me out. I can barely watch him.


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## sorearm (Apr 3, 2013)

King Biscuit Time said:


> Cool!
> 
> I wasn't necessarily going to do one that would help me with work, but the stats one did seem like it would be useful - particularly as I'm getting to grips with R alongside the course.
> 
> Anyway - that bloke is freaking me out. I can barely watch him.


 
Yeah he's hilarious, like a sterotypical "I'm Dr Mad Scientist with frizzy hair and unshaven look". Still, he knows his stuff, the female cracks along at a fair pace and it's quite a lot to take in.  I did stats at AS level but that was donkey's years ago and I quite like stats, also, it will be important in my future line of work (when I get a job in that area of course).

I love R, it's really cool, very very powerful. Maybe we could help each other on any coursework/email with any ideas. PM me and we'll exchange email addy's ?

I'm also doing the 'Computational Methods for Data Analysis', although this looks really really heavy math so may have second thoughts.  I've also looked at the interactive python as that will be really important and interesting. I've done quite a lot of Perl so this should be quite familiar.

pip pip


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 3, 2013)

sorearm said:


> Yeah he's hilarious, like a sterotypical "I'm Dr Mad Scientist with frizzy hair and unshaven look". Still, he knows his stuff, the female cracks along at a fair pace and it's quite a lot to take in. I did stats at AS level but that was donkey's years ago and I quite like stats, also, it will be important in my future line of work (when I get a job in that area of course).
> 
> I love R, it's really cool, very very powerful. Maybe we could help each other on any coursework/email with any ideas. PM me and we'll exchange email addy's ?
> 
> ...


 
Sounds good. PM sent.


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## sorearm (Apr 3, 2013)

Not going to get much done this week as it's easter half term with the kids, but having a look through the stats lectures. On the 3rd one 'centre of the data and the effects of extreme values' - she's not very clear sometimes and it looks like it's going to crack along at a fair pace!


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## baldrick (Apr 4, 2013)

are we all doing the same stats course then?  

am also signed up for the Python course, I am hoping what with having next week off work that I'll have most of this one done by the end of next week so they won't clash.


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## fractionMan (Apr 4, 2013)

I have to admit I've not looked at any of the MOOC stuff since starting this thread.  It could be that I've got a new job and that's enough, or it could be that I simply can't be bothered.


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## sorearm (Apr 7, 2013)

done the first test of the stats course, needed a couple of attempts as cba with some of the later lectures - there are .pdf's available of the lecture slides though, so read them - got 10/10 for the quiz.


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## May Kasahara (Apr 11, 2013)

Thanks for this thread fractionMan  I'm keen to get back to work after being at home with small people for two years, but feeling massively underskilled and intimidated. This could be a good path back to brain work and confidence


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## fractionMan (Apr 11, 2013)

Hope it helps!  If you like it, then also look at the OU.  It was brilliant for me, I loved it.


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## Hollis (Apr 13, 2013)

aqua said:


> See this is the thing, nothing in education is free. Looking at the business models for MOOCs yesterday everything leads to payment at some point or no one would create the courses. Whilst it might not be as expensive as attending the Uni, it certainly won't be free (and not far off full cost either). It's great in terms of enabling people who are remote/work hours that don't suit etc but I really am struggling to see the long term future. I don't have an issue with the technology or the idea, I think it's pretty cool to be part of a class that has over 40k students, but in terms of learning I'm not sure it can replace what a uni does. There will still be the elite uni's, there will still be all the other uni's too, is this not offering something that in reality doesn't do what it says? Could someone sign up thinking they're getting a quality education but in reality they're not?


 
I'd reverse that.. I'd question how much a uni lecturer adds over and above distant learning.  1 to 1 supervision clearly -but general lecturing.. not so sure.


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 16, 2013)

Really trying not to get behind with this but only managed to complete the week 1 lectures and take the quiz last night - tbh there wasn't much new but it's been a nice introduction to the basics of R.

The fellah is creeping me out though - especially his overdubs - they just come out of nowhere - INTERQUARTILE RANGE!


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 22, 2013)

Aw man, I just did the week two quiz a day after the hard deadline - That's 10 marks dropped.

Jeff and Alison are going to be pissed.


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## tangerinedream (Apr 29, 2013)

I'm doing one on the design of online courses and digital learning and stuff. Which is kind of for work, but I'm also interested in it.


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## tangerinedream (Apr 29, 2013)

Should I say, I will be doing it when it starts, cos it's not started yet!


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## Hollis (May 6, 2013)

Another relevant article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentis...nsher-john-mullan?CMP=twt_gu&CMP=NECNETTXT766


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## 5t3IIa (May 29, 2013)

How's everyone getting on?  I'm doing History of Rock Part 1 and signed up for Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets  Just for fun, won't help my work whatsoever. In fact, I'll be worse at it as I've got 2/3 week to catch-up tomorrow.


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## ferrelhadley (Jun 3, 2013)

I have done some revision courses on algorithms, nice gentle stuff and am working through a course on single variable calculus that launches straight into Taylor Series yeah, a bit chewy.


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## King Biscuit Time (Jun 3, 2013)

OK - so I got too behind with 'making sense of data' to catch up when I moved house. But I'm definitely going to finish it when and if it comes around again.


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## Yu_Gi_Oh (Jun 3, 2013)

I just signed-up for a New History for a New China on Coursera.


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## Fez909 (Dec 2, 2013)

Introduction to Android developer. Starts today. I just signed up.

https://www.coursera.org/course/androidapps101


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## fractionMan (Dec 2, 2013)

I'm going to do the mongoDB for java developers course in january.

It's at https://university.mongodb.com/courses/10gen/M101J/2014_January/about .


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## fractionMan (Jan 6, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I'm going to do the mongoDB for java developers course in january.
> 
> It's at https://university.mongodb.com/courses/10gen/M101J/2014_January/about .



BUMP.

Starting this today if anyone wants to join me 

It's pretty decent for any software development people out there.


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## Errol's son (Jan 6, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Properly done I think MOOCs could well be the future of non-elite higher ed. Sure they'll have to monetise them at some point and I'm not sure how they'll do that other than by selling people accredited qualifications - but they'll be a ton cheaper to produce per student for the unis and a whole lot cheaper to buy.



Some of the Coursera courses are charging $39-$49 for a verified certificate now.  You have to do a typing test so it recognises your typing pattern and submit a photo and copy of ID.  Though I think Coursera is getting the money rather than the universities providing the education.


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## fractionMan (Jan 6, 2014)

Errol's son said:


> Some of the Coursera courses are charging $39-$49 for a verified certificate now.  You have to do a typing test so it recognises your typing pattern and submit a photo and copy of ID.  Though I think Coursera is getting the money rather than the universities providing the education.



I think I'll have to pay for the certificate from MongoDB.  But it's still a bargain.  Professional certification in IT usually costs HUGE amounts of money.


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## Pickman's model (Jul 10, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I've not looked at online learning for a fair few years now. The breadth and quality of the materials (outside the OU) appears to have improved dramatically.
> 
> To brush up on network/graph processing I'm about to sign up for this: https://www.coursera.org/course/sna .
> 
> ...


how did you find this course - was it good?


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## Artaxerxes (Jul 10, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I think I'll have to pay for the certificate from MongoDB.  But it's still a bargain.  Professional certification in IT usually costs HUGE amounts of money.



Its usually the courses rather than the actual exams that cost a lot, the actual exams are often £60-£70 but the only easy way to get the exam is to go on a £1000+ course with the likes of QA


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## fractionMan (Jul 10, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> how did you find this course - was it good?



You know what?  I never did it.

Despite putting a whole OU degree under my belt I'm finding it hard to knuckle down and study.


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## Pickman's model (Jul 10, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> You know what?  I never did it.
> 
> Despite putting a whole OU degree under my belt I'm finding it hard to knuckle down and study.


i'll report back in the autumn once i've done it then.

but it is hard to motivate yourself for a mooc.


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## BoatieBird (Feb 3, 2016)

*bump*

Anyone else studying a MOOC?

I completed a 6-week psychology MOOC at the end of last year and I've just started on one via Future Learn called _Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime_.

Neither of which are relevant to my job, and I won't bother going for the paid accreditation for them, but I'm enjoying them nonetheless.


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## october_lost (Jul 12, 2017)

I was thinking of doing some, because I've got time to kill at the minute. 

Is the exit award worth anything? Are there any worthwhile courses?


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## Riklet (Aug 2, 2017)

Im thinking about starting something soon, once I've passed my driving test etc.

Still free mostly? 

I was thinking something related to wine for interest/possible jobs or to working as an administrator for a charity/foundation etc sorting transport things etc out.

I need a new plan!


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