
Open Courses done right: Saylor Foundation - ph0rque
http://reganmian.net/blog/2011/03/25/open-course-done-right-saylor-foundation/
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cal5k
This is a fantastic idea. I was complaining the other day about the lack of a
good collection that pulls in resources from all over to create full programs.

The problem, from what I can see of the courses marked "complete" or "semi-
complete" seems to be that they treat each subject like a collection of
concepts that you learn, then somehow synthesize in your mind, then you're
done. It's not particularly cohesive.

This is true for Single-variable calculus, a course marked complete, as well
as for introductory computer science, a course marked semi-complete. Quite
frankly the MIT OCW intro to computer science course does a far better job of
focusing on the things that matter and presenting them in a cohesive manner.

With that said, my intent is not to shit all over this because I think this is
a great and worthwhile effort. I just hope the quality of the content goes up
over time :-)

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JoshCole
The article, when talking about the disadvantages of MIT OpenCourseWare and
other "big OER" projects, mentions that textbooks can cost a lot of money.
This can be true, but sometimes it isn't. A lot of courses are using older
textbook editions. These can often be bought used for very low prices.

I'm posting this so others using online resources will check to see whether
getting the book is practical before dismissing it out of hand.

