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

MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

web.mit.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

331–340 of 605 posts

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#331

Post by DoofusOfDeath »

simonw wrote: post #152
dang wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've added "for the rest of the semester", which is explicit about being temporary and I suppose implies enough about covid-19. (Submitted title was "MIT moves all classes online, requires undergraduates to leave campus".)

As a non-US national I never really know what a "semester" is with respect to US universities. Not sure what a better title would be though. The key information here in my opinion is that students are being told not o come back in a few weeks following spring break.

U.S universities typically have two sessions per year: the "fall semester" (usually September-December) and the "spring semester" (usually January-May). Each course (e.g., Introduction to Chemistry) typically runs one semester. A full-time student usually studies 3-4 courses per semester.

Many universities also offer a small number of courses during the summer break. Some universities allow certain courses to be only a half-semester in duration.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#332

Post by [deleted] »

throwaway237654 wrote: post #324
smallgovt wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, I think it's likely going to be seen as an overreaction in hindsight by the general public (even though it may not be). If these actions are successful in curbing the virus' spread, most people won't appreciate how bad things could have really gotten.

Yup, it's the same reason why most people now see the Japanese internment as unjust. They just know we won the war and fail to connect the dots that the internment was potentially critical to winning the war.

[deleted]

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#333

Post by ColonelTrick »

kyeb wrote: post #219
CydeWeys wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of fast food places/corner stores/restaurants/groceries in Cambridge within walking distance of MIT dorms. So the "no way to eat" part is a bit dramatic.

The closest grocery is Target in Central square, which is extremely limited or maybe Trader Joe's, which also isn't the same. The Star Market that was right behind campus closed a couple years ago. It's not so easy, in my opinion.

It's not the most economically accessible, but there is a Roche Brothers in Kendall now. It opened a few months ago.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#334

Post by mlyle »

JabavuAdams wrote: post #291
grimjack00 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus. And by that time, most of the student body (with who knows how many asymptomatic carriers) will have been widely dispersed.

I'm guessing part of the rationale is that there is no way to contain this in the US. It's going to go around. But, spreading it out in time and space will reduce the chance that local health infrastructure will become saturated, resulting in more deaths. Basically hospital load-balancing.

Spreading it out in time and space fuels exponential growth, where you might contain it to slow growth through social distancing.

But you've got to get people out of environments where it is going to spread extremely quickly, like communal living in dorms, just the same.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#335

Post by vulcan01 »

WalterBright wrote: post #220

Imagine how cool it would be if MIT would make "read only" transmissions of these sessions freely available. (I know that MIT has already made many courses available on yootoob. Those are wonderful, I've watched many myself.) Upon re-reading my lecture notes from long ago, they are sadly incomprehensible without the lecture that went with it. It would be great to be able to review those lectures and refresh my memory…

Have you tried OpenCourseWare from MIT[1]? Tends to have more stuff than YouTube :) lecture notes, and typically assignments as well. Also, some professors from MIT have courses on edx.org. [1](ocw.mit.edu)

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#336

Post by mygo »

WalterBright wrote: post #170
gumby wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think anyone believes online is an acceptable substitute to a traditional MIT education, but it's a lot better than nothing, and better than continuing the in person teaching. I'm an MIT grad and know the benefits of being on campus. In fact I spent more time in the lab than I did in classes or my dorm and that just isn't possible online. My son's school (Courant) has sent everyone home too, with online subst…

I would have flunked out of Caltech without constant "troll sessions" with fellow students in the dorm helping each other understand the homework problems. If I was in that situation today, I'd prefer the semester be outright cancelled and replaced with a summer semester.

Not to mention that many students will lose study time dealing with the move, and may likely end up performing poorer than they would have otherwise.

I hope MIT really does take this stuff on a case by case basis. The student who can relocate and be back on their feet in a day will be at an advantage compared to the student who takes longer to settle from the shuffle.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#337

Post by baddox »

CydeWeys wrote: post #282
slg wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is "no way to eat [while remaining quarantined]". Dorms do not have private kitchens. They don't even have private sinks. I'm not familiar with MIT specifically, but the most you can usually hope for in the average American dorm room is a mini-fridge and a microwave. It would be incredibly difficult to expect a large number of people to live in those conditions for multiple weeks if quarantined.

You're still allowed to go to the grocery store in China. It's one of the very few places you can still go. Same in Italy. Obviously starvation is a much surer death than coronavirus, hence governments are not literally starving people to death by disallowing them from even obtaining food.

If everyone’s going to go to the same place to buy groceries you might as well keep the cafeterias running. Serve meals in shifts if you think that’s necessary.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#338

Post by hacker_newz »

capkutay wrote: post #49
whymauri wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are students at MIT/Harvard that will temporarily be rendered homeless. Some are depending on the generosity of local friends/classmates to find temporary lodging. It's getting kinda wild.

can you please not spread misinformation. there's obviously exceptions in the policy for such cases. they're not going to toss students to the street. the goal is to drastically reduce the number of students living on campus and sharing dorm space (rooms, bathrooms/showers, eating halls).

Are you an MIT student or employee?

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#339

Post by marcinzm »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #29
kasey_junk wrote: post #12

This seems like its likely to have dramatically more serious consequences for the less privileged students. Lots of people don’t have a place other than school they can live & be successful.

There are probably only a handful of MIT undergrads that are actually underprivileged per year (its unlikely enough with a middle class upbringing). I doubt this will be much of an issue, at least as much of an issue as it would be if my alma mater did this. They'll be fine.

Top private US schools provide very good financial aid packages and are a very good choice for underprivileged students if they can get in. Schools in turn want such students for diversity and metrics.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#340

Post by aatharuv »

kelnos wrote: post #261
iokanuon wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Moreover, in our dorms, we have effectively no way to eat if the dining halls close down. That sounds crazy to me, in Poland there's a multitude of cheap restaurants full of students close to every university campus. There's a big demand because universities are packed with students that don't cook for themselves. Why hasn't the same happened to the US then?

There are certainly restaurants nearby, but not sure I'd call them cheap. I imagine a lot of MIT students don't have the money to eat out every day. And since most dorms don't have any kind of kitchens or cooking implements, buying food from the grocery and cooking isn't really an option. Pre-made meals or other things from grocery stores that don't require cooking could work, but, again, I'd expect some/many student…

What dorms don't have kitchens? Certainly when I went to MIT, most (if not all) dorms at least had kitchenette's, 20 years back. Shared, of course, which is the main problem.
Post reply on HN