John McLinden
MOOCs
I'm not au fait with American grading systems, but I understand that High Distinction ain't bad!
I've been having lots of fun over the last 3 years or more, studying a series of MOOCs (Massive Open On-line Courses) on a variety of different subjects.
I started with this genetics related course which lasted for a nominal 72 hours study time and was produced in the USA and now that they have started to make similar courses in the UK and elsewhere, I have done a number of them including:
Tales from the genome
Volcanos,
Physics,
Forensic Science
Moons of the Solar System
Portus - Rome's other harbour
Hadrian's Wall
Oceans
Orion, the Night Sky
Fracking
Ecology
- lots of opinion being thrown around on these last two, as you might imagine. Lots of it apparently ill-informed and based on the "I-don't-understand-it,-so-it-must-be- bad" principle.
Heart Disease
Maritime Archaeology
Monitoring Climate from Space
Soils - the world beneath our feet
Musical Notation
Superpowers of the Ancient World
Logical & Critical Thinking
An Introduction to Electrical Engineering .
Antiquities Trafficking & Art Crime
Energy: Thermodynamics in Everyday Life
Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree
Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather
Archaeology
Homo Floresiensis Uncovered
Earth Observation from Space
How to Survive on Mars
So You Want to Study Life Science?
Monitoring the Oceans from Space
Victorian Stereo Photography
Exploring Everyday Chemistry
The Earth in my pocket - An Introduction to Geology
Extinctions: Past and Present
Monitoring the Greenland Ice Sheet from Space turned out to be a very disappointing course where you were not allowed to take the end of week tests unless you coughed up £49. Essentially a ransom if you wanted to complete the course.
I refused to pay.
It looks as if Futurelearn have decided to make charges for all their new courses. That's a great pity as it was an excellent educational tool which has apparently now been ruined by accountants.
MOOCs
I'm not au fait with American grading systems, but I understand that High Distinction ain't bad!
I've been having lots of fun over the last 3 years or more, studying a series of MOOCs (Massive Open On-line Courses) on a variety of different subjects.
I started with this genetics related course which lasted for a nominal 72 hours study time and was produced in the USA and now that they have started to make similar courses in the UK and elsewhere, I have done a number of them including:
Tales from the genome
Volcanos,
Physics,
Forensic Science
Moons of the Solar System
Portus - Rome's other harbour
Hadrian's Wall
Oceans
Orion, the Night Sky
Fracking
Ecology
- lots of opinion being thrown around on these last two, as you might imagine. Lots of it apparently ill-informed and based on the "I-don't-understand-it,-so-it-must-be- bad" principle.
Heart Disease
Maritime Archaeology
Monitoring Climate from Space
Soils - the world beneath our feet
Musical Notation
Superpowers of the Ancient World
Logical & Critical Thinking
An Introduction to Electrical Engineering .
Antiquities Trafficking & Art Crime
Energy: Thermodynamics in Everyday Life
Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree
Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather
Archaeology
Homo Floresiensis Uncovered
Earth Observation from Space
How to Survive on Mars
So You Want to Study Life Science?
Monitoring the Oceans from Space
Victorian Stereo Photography
Exploring Everyday Chemistry
The Earth in my pocket - An Introduction to Geology
Extinctions: Past and Present
Monitoring the Greenland Ice Sheet from Space turned out to be a very disappointing course where you were not allowed to take the end of week tests unless you coughed up £49. Essentially a ransom if you wanted to complete the course.
I refused to pay.
It looks as if Futurelearn have decided to make charges for all their new courses. That's a great pity as it was an excellent educational tool which has apparently now been ruined by accountants.