Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#1

Post by rgovind » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 5:05 PM UTC

Hi All,

Happy new year.

As of 2016, I realised that video based courses in Coursera and Udemy are not ideal and are a drain on efficiency. You cannot skim through content in videos and you are constantly wondering what you will miss if you forward the video. You will have to adjust to lecturer's speed rather than choose your own speed. You cannot listen to videos in noisy environments.

What I would like to see is repository of paid (or free) tutorials, which uses text and pictures to convey information rather than videos. Googling only shows scattered tutorials, but not the equivalent of Coursera. If anyone here please knows of such a resource, please let me know.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#2

Post by itg » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 5:11 PM UTC

Look at university websites for the courses you're interested and get the recommended textbooks. Sometimes the professor will also have slides posted online.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#3

Post by lovelearning » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 5:25 PM UTC

Every Coursera course I've taken had associated notes and presentations. Some were prepared by the professors or TAs themselves, while others were by fellow students and put up in the forums. Coursera forums are goldmines - if you are not in the habit of participating there, you are missing out on a lot.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#4

Post by dudul » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 5:52 PM UTC

lovelearning wrote: post #3

Every Coursera course I've taken had associated notes and presentations. Some were prepared by the professors or TAs themselves, while others were by fellow students and put up in the forums. Coursera forums are goldmines - if you are not in the habit of participating there, you are missing out on a lot.

All the courses I took had such notes, true. But I often found that they were of poor quality, sometimes completely outdated compared to the video.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#5

Post by dudul » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 5:53 PM UTC

> paid (or free) tutorials, which uses text and pictures to convey information rather than videos.

Isn't it called a "book"? :)

I'm with you, I often find videos on Coursera et all pretty useless and inefficient. More effective for me to just buy a book on the topic I want to learn about.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#6

Post by Artemis2 » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 6:00 PM UTC

Take a look at Tuts+: http://tutsplus.com/

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#7

Post by jharohit » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

MIT OCW? Also I think edX has really well done videos(and video controls) as compared to Coursera or Udemy.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#8

Post by relkor » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 6:21 PM UTC

If you are willing to wait 8 weeks, my budding company is building a search engine for explanations of things that could help you find what you are looking for. I too have had this problem in finding educational resources, and we are working to improve on the usual googleing experience. I cannot promise much right now, but you are not alone in your search. Let me know if you would like a beta key?

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#9

Post by bayesianhorse » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 6:24 PM UTC

One point of MOOCs is that they are not text books. That does not mean text books are bad or that MOOCs are all you'll ever want.

Some MOOCs create video content totally "from scratch", but usually they build on the lecturers' ability to hold a lecture in the topic, often honed through years of repeated lecturing on the same topic.

Re: Ask HN: Courses like Coursera or Udemy but without the videos?

#10

Post by kaybe » Fri, Jan 01, 2016, 6:25 PM UTC

itg wrote: post #2

Look at university websites for the courses you're interested and get the recommended textbooks. Sometimes the professor will also have slides posted online.

Or, if you're lucky, they have also published a lecture script online which may have book quality. You can also try asking if it's known to exist but not available.