I ran across a course that might be of interest to people who frequent this forum. The course is offered by edx.org. It's free, although you can add a "verified certificate" for 50 bucks. The course is titled "Making Sense of Climate Science Denial". The goal of the course is to describe the science of climate change and, more importantly, why people might deny it. I ran across it on the list of upcoming courses. It starts October 15. I decided I didn't have the time for it myself, but that it might be interesting to people here.
For some background, edx.org is a "mooc" site (Massively Open Online Course). Moocs burst on the scene a few years back, with prestigious universities offering their course content online. Edx began as a collaboration between MIT and Harvard. (And Berkley, perhaps? Maybe some others.)
It turns out that MOOCs weren't a panacea. Course that started out with thousands of people ended with dozens completing them. Professors found that the amount of effort required to support the online discussions and homework wasn't worth it. They had all sorts of problems. It turns out the act of physically going to class actually has a benefit.
Nevertheless, MOOCs can offer some great content. I've taken several classes, mostly in engineering related topics. Some have been duds, but most are really excellent and, obviously, a good value for the really cheap price. I took an optimal control systems class from MIT that was really first rate, and I took an introductory physics class to refresh some skills I hadn't used in 30 years.
Lots of outfits these days offers MOOC courses, but of the ones I've tried, Edx is the best. The classes there are higher quality and, generally, if you actually take the time and effort to complete the assignments, you'll learn something in the process. (A couple of other outfits I've taken classes from haven't been as good. In the evaluation portion of one class from Coursera.org I said that I felt like I just watched a six week long infomercial.)
Anyway, I thought it might be of interest. Check it out if this sort of thing appeals to you.
For some background, edx.org is a "mooc" site (Massively Open Online Course). Moocs burst on the scene a few years back, with prestigious universities offering their course content online. Edx began as a collaboration between MIT and Harvard. (And Berkley, perhaps? Maybe some others.)
It turns out that MOOCs weren't a panacea. Course that started out with thousands of people ended with dozens completing them. Professors found that the amount of effort required to support the online discussions and homework wasn't worth it. They had all sorts of problems. It turns out the act of physically going to class actually has a benefit.
Nevertheless, MOOCs can offer some great content. I've taken several classes, mostly in engineering related topics. Some have been duds, but most are really excellent and, obviously, a good value for the really cheap price. I took an optimal control systems class from MIT that was really first rate, and I took an introductory physics class to refresh some skills I hadn't used in 30 years.
Lots of outfits these days offers MOOC courses, but of the ones I've tried, Edx is the best. The classes there are higher quality and, generally, if you actually take the time and effort to complete the assignments, you'll learn something in the process. (A couple of other outfits I've taken classes from haven't been as good. In the evaluation portion of one class from Coursera.org I said that I felt like I just watched a six week long infomercial.)
Anyway, I thought it might be of interest. Check it out if this sort of thing appeals to you.
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