Freedomelf
Active Member
I am in the midst of my first course with Coursera, the free online university. I started a course on Fantasy and Science Fiction in late January and am now about half-way through it. So far, it's fantastic. I will receive a certificate of successful completion at the end of the course. The teacher is extremely experienced and has won quite a few awards. The course is conducted by the University of Michigan.
Of course, with 40,000 students taking the free course, there are a few drawbacks. The grades are peer-reviewed; the teacher never sees your work. You have five peer reviews for each lesson, and they average the grades you get from them. I find that peers are very, very hard on you, and it's difficult to get fantastic grades. But all you need is an average grade to pass, and I've gotten at least that or a little better, so that's okay. Some of the reviews have been utterly stupid, but most people are pretty good. I have learned to ignore the fools and just be happy with it.
The video lessons are very, very good, and they deepen my understanding of the material. You know, conceivably, one could take this course online for free, just to get a feeling for it, and then if they want to get full college credit, they could then take the same course in the university, with the same teacher, and pay for it.
Although you get a certificate of successful completion, you do not get actual college credit toward a degree. However, certificates would look good on a resume. On the bright side, this is COMPLETELY FREE. They even provide the course materials, such as online links to the books that you need to read for the course. I haven't had to pay a thin dime.
So anyway, I'm happy with it. Any other Coursera students out there? I'm wondering if your experience is as good as mine. As I said, this is my first course and I am only half-way through it, so I'm wondering if I just got lucky or if they are all good. I'm going to be taking another course when this one ends. It's about global warming and it is coming out of the University at Melbourne, I believe. All great schools; no fly-by-night places.
I just thought I'd ask how anyone else likes it.
Of course, with 40,000 students taking the free course, there are a few drawbacks. The grades are peer-reviewed; the teacher never sees your work. You have five peer reviews for each lesson, and they average the grades you get from them. I find that peers are very, very hard on you, and it's difficult to get fantastic grades. But all you need is an average grade to pass, and I've gotten at least that or a little better, so that's okay. Some of the reviews have been utterly stupid, but most people are pretty good. I have learned to ignore the fools and just be happy with it.
The video lessons are very, very good, and they deepen my understanding of the material. You know, conceivably, one could take this course online for free, just to get a feeling for it, and then if they want to get full college credit, they could then take the same course in the university, with the same teacher, and pay for it.
Although you get a certificate of successful completion, you do not get actual college credit toward a degree. However, certificates would look good on a resume. On the bright side, this is COMPLETELY FREE. They even provide the course materials, such as online links to the books that you need to read for the course. I haven't had to pay a thin dime.
So anyway, I'm happy with it. Any other Coursera students out there? I'm wondering if your experience is as good as mine. As I said, this is my first course and I am only half-way through it, so I'm wondering if I just got lucky or if they are all good. I'm going to be taking another course when this one ends. It's about global warming and it is coming out of the University at Melbourne, I believe. All great schools; no fly-by-night places.
I just thought I'd ask how anyone else likes it.