Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
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Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
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Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#2This is fantastic and a required piece of the online learning revolution. You have to prove that it's you and take an exam to get the credit and currently this can only be done by physically going to test centers. I predict that in the very near future (~1-2 years) taking such tests to get credit for online courses will be as common place as taking the GRE or GMAT.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#3Humble and understated announcement of what is arguably the most important part of making online education sustainable.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#4THIS IS HUGE! Wow, an amazing move by Udacity. I love (as others commented) how understated and under-hype they've made this announcement to be.
Talk about closing the loop further in enhancing the viability of online education.
I consider this one of the biggest turning point in Udacity, if not online education space as a whole.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#5Awesome. Aping the accreditation, credit and degree system of brick and mortar academe doesn't make sense for the latest generation of educators - udacity, Coursera, Khan Academy, et al. Proctored exams to verify that the student knows the material are the way to go.
For final exams that cover an entire course, a test independently designed by a third party, using input from employers, entreprenuers and academics, might be a great supplement. Where you took the course would be irrelevant, so long as you could pass the test. It would allow for easy comparison of students in different programs.
Testing is a vital step in providing a credential at least as valuable as a college degree.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#6This is absolutely huge.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#7The current Udacity exams take about 10 hours of coding to complete, so it sounds like these are actually going to be significantly less difficult. Still, I think this is a step in the right direction. Of all the online education programs out there my money is definitely on Udacity (or at least the Udacity model) to be the winner, and I think ten years from now people will recognize that this announcement was every bit as big as the X-prize or the recent SpaceX docking.
That's not to say there isn't room for other programs that are run in different ways, not only will there be but many will be insanely successful and profitable, but I think that the Udacity model is going to sort of the default way of doing things that every other program is compared against.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#8I hate Pearson products with a passion (save for a few imprints and assorted acquisitions). This is a great step though for both companies, so hopefully it works out for both. Pearson's online components has included some of the worst software I've ever had to deal with– maybe thanks to this, future students will never have to deal with it again. Udacity on the other hand has been great, so it's all very exciting anyway.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#9The current Udacity exams take about 10 hours of coding to complete, so it sounds like these are actually going to be significantly less difficult. Still, I think this is a step in the right direction. Of all the online education programs out there my money is definitely on Udacity (or at least the Udacity model) to be the winner, and I think ten years from now people will recognize that this announcement was every b…
"The current Udacity exams take about 10 hours of coding to complete..."
From the article: " For the first round of exams, programming will not be included."
I don't think you can demonstrate programming competence with a 90 minute multiple choice test, so I'm interested to see how they end up tackling that challenge.
Re: Udacity in partnership with Pearson VUE announces testing centers
#10The current Udacity exams take about 10 hours of coding to complete, so it sounds like these are actually going to be significantly less difficult. Still, I think this is a step in the right direction. Of all the online education programs out there my money is definitely on Udacity (or at least the Udacity model) to be the winner, and I think ten years from now people will recognize that this announcement was every b…
"The current Udacity exams take about 10 hours of coding to complete..." From the article: " For the first round of exams, programming will not be included." I don't think you can demonstrate programming competence with a 90 minute multiple choice test, so I'm interested to see how they end up tackling that challenge.
"...students wishing to pursue our official credential and be part of our job placement program should also take an additional final exam in a Pearson testing center."
It sounds like the Pearson exams are in addition to the online, coding test.