Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Established education providers v new contenders

economist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 55 posts

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#21

Post by posterboy »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #19
sidusknight wrote: post #9

Anyone have any MOOC recommendations?

Machine Learning by Andrew Ng https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning The maths is fairly straightforward and the concepts are explained well.

I started that one and feel like the format doesn't take much advantage of the medium: the videos are very much like traditional lectures. Of course being free is an immense plus, but then so are many books.

Specifically, I take issue with NG's foreign accent. That's just me looking for a reason, but it's the second time after Agarwal on MITx (and that wanted me to purchase his book). Also, I can already record lectures and play them back at will, only I have to leave the house for that. Besides that, these courses were rather classical university courses, it seems.

My gripe is, the videos are too long and my attention span too short. The first 2 weeks I could even pass just from what I learned reading HN, so I suppose I really prefer the socratic method instead of frontal education. Many would claim I was simply lazy and they'd be right, alas also derogitory.

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#22

Post by misterbishop »

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute.

We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Academy is for aspiring skilled laborers.

Note that the conclusion is "the credentialling problem has to be solved". Credentials are an attempt to commodify learning. So instead of pesky B.S.'s and M.A.'s you'll get some print-at-home Happy Meal prize. No thanks.

According to The Atlantic, it would cost $62B/year to make state colleges tuition free. Last month it was revealed that the Pentagon covered up a report showing how they failed to save $125B over 5 years simply in bureaucratic waste. So while The Economist is telling us how watching videos online is a reasonable alternative to a university education, the kind of funding that could revolutionize American higher education is basically pocket change to the War-makers.

The rush to online education is just one more way Capitalism is hollowing out the United States.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/heres-ex...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/pentagon-burie...

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#23

Post by geomark »

misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

Have you ever taken a MOOC? A quality one, like Andew Ng's Machine Learning, or Data Analysis and Statistical Inference from Duke.

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#24

Post by edthrowaway2222 »

misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

Tertiary education is already a commodity -- the process by which that commodity is attained is simply becoming more efficient.

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#25

Post by SomeStupidPoint »

geomark wrote: post #23
misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

Have you ever taken a MOOC? A quality one, like Andew Ng's Machine Learning, or Data Analysis and Statistical Inference from Duke.

I did Andrew Ng's machine learning MOOC course.

It was very good for a MOOC, and better than my worst university classes, but I'm hesitant to say it was even as good as an average university course.

I don't think my education would have been as good entirely composed of such classes, but I'm willing to admit some of that might be preference, educational style I was raised with, etc. However, it seemed much lighter and less demanding than Id expect from an actual university ML class.

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#26

Post by wbillingsley »

geomark wrote: post #23
misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

Have you ever taken a MOOC? A quality one, like Andew Ng's Machine Learning, or Data Analysis and Statistical Inference from Duke.

Some of them are good. But I doubt people will look back on their MOOC-taking years with quite the same level of nostalgia and camaraderie as their college years...

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#27

Post by SomeStupidPoint »

edthrowaway2222 wrote: post #24
misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

Tertiary education is already a commodity -- the process by which that commodity is attained is simply becoming more efficient.

McDonalds isn't merely a more "efficient" burger, and that's the point here.

Cutting substance in favor of cutting price (or being "efficient") has been a disaster in American culture -- from food to education.

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#28

Post by ig1 »

misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

For the majority of university students the learning process is largely composed of sitting in large lecture halls with minimal interactions being lectured by someone who'd much rather be doing research than teaching.

Why precisely is that superior to a video of a lecture delivered by someone who's focus is teaching ?

Re: Established education providers v new contenders

#29

Post by joekrill »

misterbishop wrote: post #22

MOOCs are the McDonalds-ification of education. It's disgusting honestly. Western Capitalism is utterly failing to provide a decent, affordable secondary education even to its relatively privileged middle class, so instead they try to convince us that watching a few videos is a decent substitute. We know how capital views education, just get a service job and watch the horrific training videos. That's what Khan Acade…

Can you offer any actual _evidence_ that makes this "disgusting", or even a bad thing? I have a hard time believing that making any sort of education free is bad -- let alone disgusting.
Post reply on HN