In order to learn from Ivy leagues, you need not get into one. OCW started by MIT early 2000 is a really good initiative, and I see that Universities which are not open are not good like open source.
OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
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Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#12I think these Stanford courses are even superior to the MIT OpenCourseWare ones. The quality of these videos along with the feeling that the teacher is directly speaking to YOU is just impressive.
I also have to say, that I absolutely love the "khan"-Style presentations
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#13After the first week of the AI and Machine Language class I'm truly impressed. I feel I'll be putting more effort into this than most of my classes in college simply due to the metrics and ease of UI for the in video question. Now they should add achievements like for the ML class, "3 perfect first attempt"... or stuff like that ;p Also anyone knows of a good online video lecture on Computer graphics? Something with…
Same feeling here, and actually I felt frustrated with the AI class.
After looking at the others the lack of a larger standalone "exercise" section was disappointing.
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#14I really respect Stanford's willingness to share content for free. They seem to have let go of the elitist notion of the past wherein content is worth so much to universities. This feels like they actually want people to learn.
Bump. In the past, I've been through Stanford's IOS dev course and ML course (via iTunes). Currently, I'm doing the AI course. It is truly amazing that Stanford is giving away this content for free. As an academic, it makes me wondering how education will change over the next 10 years. If a prof gives a fantastic lecture in the Fall of 2010, does he need to repeat himself in 2011? I had the experience of lecturing an…
> I worry that it might not be sustainable.
The rise of Wikipedia with the concomitant decline of commercial, paper encyclopedias offers some insight into the future of education. In the future, there will be more education available and it will be very cheap.
What will not be sustainable anymore is a career in education where one gives essentially the same lecture for 30 years but gets paid as if he has created an entirely new lecture every year.
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#15There are tens of thousands of students taking these courses. There's probably a business opportunity here. How could a startup make money by hiring, say, one hundred of the best Machine Learning graduates?
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#16It seems that there is a digital divide between universities that "get it", and universities that don't. I applaud universities like MIT and Stanford for opening up education for everyone.
Other universities, like NC State and Georgia Tech, give platitudes about equal access to education for all but then fail to deliver. At the end of the day, this is because online education for them is not about equality, but rather, it is about creating a revenue stream for the institution. These institutions will charge thousands of dollars for what is effectively access to pre-recorded videos, with a Teaching Assistant that grades your work to provide that key "certification". If you just want to learn for the sake or learning, and aren't concerned with having an official credential, you're simply out of luck.
For example, I find NC State's policy simply draconian: http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/forms/EOL%20Course%20Downl...
"Accordingly, this policy also relates to the downloading of video lectures for Engineering Online classes. You are allowed to download a lecture and to keep it on your machine until the end of the semester you are enrolled in the class. After this time period, you must delete the downloaded files."
That's the type of contract I expect from the MPAA, not an educational institution. Contrast this with MIT OpenCourseware, which provides lecture notes, exam, and videos without any registration:
So, good job MIT and Stanford. Hopefully other institutions will follow your path.
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#17Every release of new free classes from Stanford or MIT just makes me giddy and jealous of everyone that goes there. A lot of extra work goes into these classes and I think it says tons about the awesome ideals that these institution holds, which is very different from the ideals that the education system I have been fighting for over half a year holds.
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#18HN now has serious go to links for anyone posting on here asking where to start in any of these subjects. This is extremely helpful, and I'm extremely excited to start. The web applications is the most comprehensive course I've seen.
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#19I'd take a good book over this any day.
Re: OpenClassroom: Free video courses from Stanford University
#20I really respect Stanford's willingness to share content for free. They seem to have let go of the elitist notion of the past wherein content is worth so much to universities. This feels like they actually want people to learn.
It's definitely a positive trend, but I don't think there's been much of a change in mindset. Have these schools ever taken pleasure in limiting access to their teaching? No one's going to stop you from walking into the AI class tomorrow and seeing lectures in person, and I presume that's always been the case for large classes.
The real innovation in the AI, ML and DB classes is making automated grading of creative work available to everyone for free. It's a very altruistic thing to do, but other than the effort needed to build and maintain the systems, I don't see the downsides for the school. Fancy schools are for letting other people know you're smart enough to get into a fancy school, meeting other smart people, and having access to people who are doing cutting-edge research. The content isn't the distinguishing factor.