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Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

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Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#21

Post by dudurocha »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #3

I have a question perhaps someone knows the answer to: is Udacity concentrating on short, relatively easy classes for mass appeal and Coursera concentrating on more difficult and rigorous classes? I am currently taking two Coursera classes (one is on probabilistic graphical models and the other on NLP) and so far at least, I am impressed by the depth of material covered and general quality. I will probably need to sp…

I started in the CS373, and having a not so good experience in programming, I found the course very difficult. I mean, the style of teaching is very good. When you program step by step, you learn more and feel more confident.

I think the difference between Coursera and Udacity, is the first one is more focused in lectures and homeworks, and the latter is more focused in practice all the time.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#22

Post by dlf »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #3

I have a question perhaps someone knows the answer to: is Udacity concentrating on short, relatively easy classes for mass appeal and Coursera concentrating on more difficult and rigorous classes? I am currently taking two Coursera classes (one is on probabilistic graphical models and the other on NLP) and so far at least, I am impressed by the depth of material covered and general quality. I will probably need to sp…

As a programming noob, I feel like I learned as much in a day on Udacity as I learned in a month left to my own devices using Khan Academy, The New Boston, and other online materials.

The fact that they show the immediate application of what you've learned goes miles into helping you remember it. To answer the question, they cover a lot in a short span of time and don't waste time teaching concepts that don't have immediate application.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#23

Post by wisty »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #3

I have a question perhaps someone knows the answer to: is Udacity concentrating on short, relatively easy classes for mass appeal and Coursera concentrating on more difficult and rigorous classes? I am currently taking two Coursera classes (one is on probabilistic graphical models and the other on NLP) and so far at least, I am impressed by the depth of material covered and general quality. I will probably need to sp…

It depends on the course. NLP and PGM are some fo the more hardcore Coursera courses.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#24

Post by ohyes »

marcovaldo wrote: post #9

Will Udacity courses be accredited? Will their accreditation be taken seriously? If not them, then some new startup in this space will be. They will spike the money-hose directed at HarvardYaleOxfordCambridge.

Check the TOS; it says pretty clearly they are not accredited and courses taken will not stand in for an accredited course.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#25

Post by ndefinite »

marcovaldo wrote: post #9

Will Udacity courses be accredited? Will their accreditation be taken seriously? If not them, then some new startup in this space will be. They will spike the money-hose directed at HarvardYaleOxfordCambridge.

Their business model depends on their ability to teach and then connect students with hiring employers (in interviews they indicated their business plan is to generate revenue through recruitment). Whether accredited or not, as a student, what's good for Udacity is good for me.

The professors are also well respected brand names in their own right. Having your introduction to probabilistic robots come from Thrun to me carriers weight

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#26

Post by ohyes »

The nice thing about college is that it provides an easy way to find a lot of other smart people who are about your age.

Also, teaching someone else solidifies knowledge a lot more quickly than straight lecture or exercises.

So it is too bad to me that there is no social aspect of this course and these types of programs. Udacity study group on google+ or whatnot would be neat.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#27

Post by graeme »

ohyes wrote: post #26

The nice thing about college is that it provides an easy way to find a lot of other smart people who are about your age. Also, teaching someone else solidifies knowledge a lot more quickly than straight lecture or exercises. So it is too bad to me that there is no social aspect of this course and these types of programs. Udacity study group on google+ or whatnot would be neat.

Actually, the Udacity courses have very active forums.

There is a good mix of experienced programmers and absolute beginners...if I ever have a problem, I usually have an answer within 5-10 minutes, and I get to return the favour frequently.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#28

Post by graeme »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #3

I have a question perhaps someone knows the answer to: is Udacity concentrating on short, relatively easy classes for mass appeal and Coursera concentrating on more difficult and rigorous classes? I am currently taking two Coursera classes (one is on probabilistic graphical models and the other on NLP) and so far at least, I am impressed by the depth of material covered and general quality. I will probably need to sp…

Udacity is definitely focussed on shorter classes. I wouldn't call them easy though - accessible is a better word.

Anyone is able to take their CS 101 class - no prereqs are required. But it's fairly substantive. There are always forum complaints about how hard some of the homework is.

I think they've picked a good balance of accessibility vs. rigor. But I expect that as they add more classes, people will be able to use Udacity to acquire real skills.

Put another way: The fact that 50% of their current classes are for novices (i.e. one course) doesn't mean the situation will stay that way for long.

And they are very, very good at teaching and online delivery.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#29

Post by ramkalari »

Homunculiheaded wrote: post #7
waiwai933 wrote: post #4

Dr. Norvig is no doubt a genius in computer science, and Udacity is certainly looking promising considering that it's able to hire such influential people... but that said, it doesn't look like he has any actual teaching experience, and educating is made up of a different skill set than computer science. Every teacher has to start off having never taught before, but nevertheless, this makes me a little hesitant—are m…

I have to agree, I love Norvig's writing, but I was really underwhelmed with his teaching ability in ai-class. I though Thrun was a much more enthusiastic and elucidating teacher. It's also possible that Norvig and Thrun placed different priority on the course. PAIP is one of my favorite programming books, so I'm really surprised that someone that would write a text so well would have such a hard time getting that sa…

I actually liked Norvig's teaching style. His ability to get to the essence of a topic quickly is quite remarkable.

Re: Peter Norvig to teach 'Design of Computer Programs' at Udacity

#30

Post by eddie_the_head »

ohyes wrote: post #26

The nice thing about college is that it provides an easy way to find a lot of other smart people who are about your age. Also, teaching someone else solidifies knowledge a lot more quickly than straight lecture or exercises. So it is too bad to me that there is no social aspect of this course and these types of programs. Udacity study group on google+ or whatnot would be neat.

There is actually a very active social aspect to these Coursera and Udacity etc courses. You clearly haven't signed up yet, check out the forums for each class that are very active, the subreddits (main hub is at /r/OnlineEducation), and the many IRC channels (main hub is #free-class on Freenode). These act as effective study groups with people helping and discussing with each other many things about the courses at hand and related things. And as the other commenter noted, the students' backgrounds very greatly which makes it all the more interesting.
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