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

81–90 of 605 posts

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

#81

Post by adrianmonk »

mumblemumble wrote: post #51

The "empty out campus" bit seems a bit overmuch to me. What's the epidemiologists' take on something like this? I can see asking students who left for spring break not to come back. But asking students currently on campus to leave, and even demanding that they travel internationally, seems like it might just increase everyone's risk of exposure, and spread it around. Especially considering that, at least according to…

Yeah, this sounds like a local optimization that is going to make things worse overall. Even if international students get to stay, you're still giving people a lot of reason to travel. Twice. A lot of people are going to go home and stay with Mom and Dad, I would expect.

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

#82

Post by sarbaz »

Jtsummers wrote: post #42
colechristensen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A university education is not a SaaS product. We are getting to the point where lectures should be mandated to be recorded and put into the public domain, and the University's value proposition in admission, tuition, and residence should be the everything else involved which could raise the focus away from re-doing the same lectures over and over.

There's a lot of value in running through the lecture live with a new class. Different students, different needs. If my undergrad CS Theory prof had used recorded lectures, it would've been great for 5 of us, and terrible for the other 30 or so. There were sections that they just did not get and needed repetition or clarifying examples. What's more, the students often don't know what they aren't understanding (someti…

This sounds pretty silly. There's bound to be a way to make online (or semi-online) learning agile too. Distance learning is basically a solved problem and has been done for hundreds of years.

How about recorded lectures and in-person small group recitations? Or longer office hours? Obviously you have to change the methodology of learning a bit, but I'm sure it can be figured out.

In any case undergrad level science lectures are basically a one-sided info dump where the lecturer is lucky to get so much as an ACK that someone is listening.

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

#83

Post by TeMPOraL »

xenihn wrote: post #47
aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

Beats getting quarantined.

They might still get quarantined. Given the state of testing in the US, who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus.

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

#86

Post by r00fus »

tekacs wrote: post #68
aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

They’re providing packing materials and helping with the move. Financially, they say: > We understand that being asked to leave campus may pose a serious financial hardship for certain individuals. Students will receive a follow up communication on this matter. It’s unclear what their solution is, but they seem to have thought about it...

The unclarity is unsettling. I imagine many will want to fly back to their parents home but may be barred from doing so.

Was evicting a large populace a good idea? Aren't there other options?

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

#87

Post by whymauri »

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).

This is not misinformation. The methods and procedures for appealing are not clear yet (we leave in seven days!) and there are students who are moving into local houses with friends. If you think MIT won't "just toss students to the street" you haven't been paying attention to the closures of Bexley Hall, Senior House, and the upcoming closure of Eastgate (which was only recently amended to be slightly better).

The source is that I am currently here and it is unfolding before my eyes and in my community.

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

#88

Post by chickenpotpie »

adrianmonk wrote: post #81
mumblemumble wrote: post #51

The "empty out campus" bit seems a bit overmuch to me. What's the epidemiologists' take on something like this? I can see asking students who left for spring break not to come back. But asking students currently on campus to leave, and even demanding that they travel internationally, seems like it might just increase everyone's risk of exposure, and spread it around. Especially considering that, at least according to…

Yeah, this sounds like a local optimization that is going to make things worse overall. Even if international students get to stay, you're still giving people a lot of reason to travel. Twice. A lot of people are going to go home and stay with Mom and Dad, I would expect.

Oh god, I didn't even think about how someone with Corona is going to go from spending all day around young, healthy individuals to their aging parents.

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

#89

Post by toss1 »

neets wrote: post #5
JPKab wrote: post #2

One of my coworkers daughters is affected by this. The big question this begs: If there is no refund being offered for the content shifting online from in-person, why have in-person at all? Is room and board going to be refunded? If courses being taught online is an acceptable substitute, why have caps on admission at all? Edit: Understood that infinite sized classes aren't workable for human intensive grading, inter…

Aren't undergraduate ivy league programs more about signaling status than actually becoming educated?

NO

Perhaps for some, but everyone I knew while I was an Ivy undergrad was doing their level best to take advantage of the benefits of that amazing environment of smart, educated people, both the profs, the visiting speakers, and the other students. Since then, it has been what I've learned, not what signaling I could do that has helped me most (tho I'm not the most social person, so YMV).

One thing I really learned there (among other places), is that it really pays to learn from the best -- you have to go through a learning process, and best to learn it once going directly to the top level, vs. a watered-down version and then re-learning. (of course, you can't instantly jump to the top level, but just getting the clues form those who work at the top levels as you work your way up the curve is a huge benefit).

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

#90

Post by ct0 »

chickenpotpie wrote: post #85

Isn't it way worse to make everyone travel? If any of the students had contracted the virus wouldn't it be better to keep it contained at the University rather than bringing it to where they're from?

Its not about the virus, its about the liability. Everyone is looking out for them self here.
Post reply on HN