
Ask HN: What's your favorite online course? - sidcool
Better if technology related, but an open question nevertheless.
======
samwgoldman
I haven't taken many online courses, but here are my favorites (notice a
trend):

Andrew Ng's ML Class - This makes the list because it is incredibly useful. I
didn't have much background in the field and this class is a practical survey
of ideas. Not a ton of depth, but exposes you to a lot of information gently.

Daphne Koller's PGM Class - This was the most rewarding. I banged my head on a
lot of this material, but it was an incredible feeling when things started to
click. That I was able to complete this class is a testament to Dr. Koller's
excellence as an educator.

Dan Jurafsky's and Christopher Manning's NLP Class - This class was the most
fun. I thought the exercises were incredibly well designed. Unlike the first
two courses, the exercises were a lot more interesting. For ML and PGM, you
mostly know when you have the answer and you are rewarded with 100%. NLP
assignments are based on how well your system generalizes, which made me try
harder to improve my systems, and helped me enjoy the course.

~~~
platz
Koller's PGM was fun but very hard to generalize outside of the problems
presented in the class. Opportunities to implement loopy belief propagation
just don't seem to come up as much ad I'd like.

~~~
alkalait
That's because most were toy examples dealing with discrete distributions in a
few dimensions. Granted, these are mathematically easier to deal with, but not
representative of real-world scenarios.

------
ctoomey
Algorithms: Design and Analysis Parts 1 and 2
([https://www.coursera.org/course/algo](https://www.coursera.org/course/algo)
and
[https://www.coursera.org/course/algo2](https://www.coursera.org/course/algo2))
taught by Tim Roughgarden of Stanford. Tim's the best professor I've ever had
either on or offline and he does a fantastic job explaining the concepts and
breaking down the algorithms into digestible, intuitive pieces. His enthusiasm
for the topic and the impressive algorithms is contagious and keeps the
challenging courses fun and interesting.

Functional Programming Principles in Scala
([https://www.coursera.org/course/progfun](https://www.coursera.org/course/progfun))
by Martin Odersky, the inventor of Scala, is also excellent and a great way to
learn and start using Scala and functional programming. Be forewarned though,
once you get a taste of Scala, you'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming
back to using Java :-).

~~~
jedmeyers
Also, Algorithms, Part I and II
([https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI](https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI)
and
[https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partII](https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partII))
by Kevin Wayne and Robert Sedgewick of Princeton University. They approach
algorithms from a slightly different angle than Stanford course does and in my
opinion they complement each other very well. I was very impressed by the
lectures, practical problems, the autograder, and the 'Algorythms 4th edition'
book.

p.s. don't expect any certificate of acomplishment for those courses though. I
did them both close to 100% and they did not even show up in completed courses
on Coursera. I guess it's the Princenton thing, and I came just for the
knowledge so that was fine with me.

------
Yeroc
I haven't taken many online courses but my wife & I just took the course
"Learning How to Learn" ([https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-
learn](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn)) together and I
wish this was available before I went to university. They do a great job of
presenting the content and provide a lot of references for additional reading
for those that have a deeper interest. It should probably be considered the
pre-requisite to all other online courses!

------
middleclick
Dan Boneh's "Introduction to Cryptography".

(Part 1)
[https://www.coursera.org/course/crypto](https://www.coursera.org/course/crypto)
(Part 2)
[https://www.coursera.org/course/crypto2](https://www.coursera.org/course/crypto2)

~~~
calvins
+1 for Dan's crypto1. I don't think crypto2 has been taught yet via coursera,
as I've been waiting to take it and have seen it pushed back several times,
and I've seen others say they'd been watching it get delayed for years. It
does seem that Dan has been recording videos for part 2 in 2015 though
(according to one of his students), so there's reason for hope that it might
happen in 2016.

~~~
uulbiy
I finished Cryptography I in March 2012 and wanted to take Cryptography II
ever since. Every time the announced time is close it gets pushed back by 4
months.

------
jpetitto
"Programming Languages" \-
[https://www.coursera.org/course/proglang](https://www.coursera.org/course/proglang)

"Compilers" \-
[https://www.coursera.org/course/compilers](https://www.coursera.org/course/compilers)

~~~
thisone
Programming Languages is one of those courses that just keeps on giving.

A great basis for functional and Lisp fundamentals. I'm just starting a
journey into Erlang and that course has meant that the switch isn't as
difficult as it could have been.

The course format was interesting. I'm not 100% on board with doing peer
assessment, but I did like being able to see how other people handled the
assignments.

------
Adam_O
My all star lineup would be:

The Analytics Edge - [https://www.edx.org/course/analytics-edge-
mitx-15-071x-0](https://www.edx.org/course/analytics-edge-mitx-15-071x-0)

Design of Computer Programs - [https://www.udacity.com/course/design-of-
computer-programs--...](https://www.udacity.com/course/design-of-computer-
programs--cs212)

Justice - [https://www.edx.org/course/justice-harvardx-
er22-1x-0](https://www.edx.org/course/justice-harvardx-er22-1x-0)

If I had more time I would love to go through the bioinformatics
specialization on Coursera. They have 2 books and an exercise site
(rosalind.info). It looks like great fun.

[https://www.coursera.org/specializations/bioinformatics?utm_...](https://www.coursera.org/specializations/bioinformatics?utm_medium=courseDescripTop)

~~~
amykhar
Design of Computer Programs was decidedly the best course I ever took online.
I was lucky enough to take it when it was first offered. Peter Norvig was very
active in the course forum.

------
valgaze
Dr. Strang's linear algebra course is absolutely amazing:
[http://web.mit.edu/18.06/www/videos.shtml](http://web.mit.edu/18.06/www/videos.shtml)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Strang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Strang)

~~~
yoklov
You (or anybody else, for that matter) don't happen to know of something
similar for geometric algebra, do you?

------
mrsuprawsm
Duolingo: [https://www.duolingo.com/](https://www.duolingo.com/)

It's not tech-related, but I have achieved near-fluency in one language in
less than a year (Dutch), and I'm currently learning 3-4 others. (Russian,
German, French, Italian) I find it very effective and easy to fit in around
everyday life.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone else seeking to learn languages.

~~~
rahimnathwani
Are you living in the Netherlands and/or doing any study outside Duolingo?

~~~
halviti
You'll have to eventually study outside duolingo if you are serious about
learning a language.

I would recommend starting with the duolingo course, completing it, then
keeping your tree gold while exploring other learning material. Start with
children's books and work your way up. There are also a lot of language
exchange chat sites that are good to help you get more comfortable speaking a
new language, but you will need a partner to practice with at some point.

Also I've found ReadLang (which I found on HN) to be a very helpful tool for
faster learning, and I upload the majority of my ebooks into it.

I hope this helps.

~~~
rahimnathwani
Thanks. I was curious because I was using Duolingo to help with my (very
rusty) Spanish. I could see that it was helping me to recall vocabulary (and
some grammar points) but I didn't see how it would help me improve my
listening.

Reading your comment, I thought you had achieved near-fluency in Dutch with
_just_ Duolingo, and thought perhaps there was some functionality I had
missed!

Thanks for the pointer to ReadLang. The click-to-translate and immediate
ability to add to a flashcard list are similar to the features I used most in
Pleco (dictionary on steroids) when I first started seriously studying
Chinese.

I'll give Readlang a try.

------
manish_gill
Can't edit my earlier comment, so making a new one: There are quite a few
people on HN who are great at Economics and Finance. Could someone recommend
some courses and texts (and hopefully a "path") for a complete beginner to
understand it? I'd like to be able to better understand things like the FT and
all the stats that CNBC shows me etc. Also hopefully get skilled enough to
start investing in the market. Not to mention, broad economical trends and
projections etc. Thanks!

~~~
tmbsundar
> broad economical trends and projections

Any good Economics Text book will do: like Principles of Economics/ Principles
of Microeconomics, Gregory Mankiw

You can also try, although, personally I have not taken these:

[https://www.coursera.org/course/microecon](https://www.coursera.org/course/microecon)

[https://www.coursera.org/learn/principles-of-
macroeconomics](https://www.coursera.org/learn/principles-of-macroeconomics)

> FT and all the stats that CNBC shows me

For Investment valuation and Corporate Finance Damodaran is one of the best
sources:

[http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/](http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/)

Visit his blog, read his books. He has online classes as well

Also you can try, (I've not taken this course):
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/financial-
markets](https://www.coursera.org/learn/financial-markets)

For Value Investing, Benjamin Graham is a classic:

[http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-
Invest...](http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Investing-
Essentials/dp/0060555661/ref=la_B000APZXBQ_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1448898823&sr=1-1)

> For Technical Analysis and Futures Trading though, there are tonnes of
> books. May be you can start with these:

[http://www.amazon.com/Technical-Analysis-Financial-
Markets-C...](http://www.amazon.com/Technical-Analysis-Financial-Markets-
Comprehensive/dp/0735200661)

[http://www.amazon.com/Options-Futures-Other-Derivatives-
Edit...](http://www.amazon.com/Options-Futures-Other-Derivatives-
Edition/dp/0130090565)

And lastly,

> combine my CS background with Finance and do something interesting in it

[https://www.coursera.org/learn/computational-
investing](https://www.coursera.org/learn/computational-investing)

~~~
phrogdriver
Damodaran and Graham are fantastic, as is Shiller's Financial Markets. His
2008 course on Open Yale was an early spark in my career.

After a quick look at the "Technical Analysis" book preview on Amazon, I would
caution that technical analysis is generally a rorschach test of humans
finding patterns in data when there really aren't any. Skip that one.

------
tagawa
It's not technical but the best I've taken so far is Songwriting on Coursera:
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/songwriting](https://www.coursera.org/learn/songwriting)

Presented by Pat Pattison from Berklee College of Music, I started the course
thinking who is this guy? By the end I was hanging off his every word. Even if
you've never thought of writing a song it opens your eyes to the talent (and
tricks!) in the music business.

~~~
dasboth
I took the "Developing your Musicianship" and "Jazz Improvisation" courses,
which I believe are in the same specialisation. The first one was at a very
basic level and the improv was one was more advanced, but both were excellent.
Highly recommended for aspiring musicians.

Good to hear a recommendation for the Songwriting course, thanks, I'll check
it out.

~~~
makeset
I also started Songwriting and Jazz Improvisation, and while both had
outstanding content and instruction, the peer-grading of assignments was a
complete failure and forced me to quit the coursework timeline. Aside from
reviewing others' work being a huge time sink, all feedback I ever got myself
was completely useless, like "You did everything in the instructions, but I
don't like this" or "Gee, I don't know enough to tell you how to do this any
better." I would have gladly paid to get qualified feedback.

~~~
dasboth
You're right, I should have mentioned that, as I actually had a similar
experience. A lot of the comments I received were also along the lines of
"that's great" (when I knew it wasn't and I was actually looking forward to
some constructive criticism from someone better than me) or, as you mentioned,
the classic "I don't know enough to help you".

Paying for qualified feedback would have made it better, although I still felt
like I took a lot away from the taught content.

------
wobbleblob
I loved this course:

[https://www.coursera.org/learn/origins-universe-
solarsystem](https://www.coursera.org/learn/origins-universe-solarsystem)

As the course progresses roughly chronologically (one theme per week) from the
formation of the solar system to the present, it introduces the foundations
and jargon of the disciplines of astronomy, geology, microbiology,
paleontology, botany, ecology etc.

For some reason I never finish courses that are directly relevant to my job.
After an 8 or 9 hour day doing tech stuff to make a deadline, spending another
1 or 2 hours a night doing tech stuff to make a deadline starts to feel like
more work. I find the general science courses much more interesting.

------
Kurtz79
Peter Norvig's "Design of Computer Programs"

[https://www.udacity.com/course/design-of-computer-
programs--...](https://www.udacity.com/course/design-of-computer-programs--
cs212)

An introduction to some semi-advanced programming concepts using an accessible
language like Python, taught by a giant of CS.

Steve Huffman's "Web Development"

[https://www.udacity.com/course/web-development--
cs253](https://www.udacity.com/course/web-development--cs253)

Basics of developing a web application, it uses Google App Engine as a base
but the concepts taught are easily extensible to other platforms. Steve comes
off as a likable and competent teacher.

------
sonabinu
[https://www.coursera.org/course/rprog](https://www.coursera.org/course/rprog)
\- This is the best online course I've taken. Another one I am signed up for
and have already done one week of lectures (preview mode) and find very
applicable is [https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-
learn/](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn/)

~~~
dhawalhs
Interestingly we get a lot of mixed reviews for R Prog course:
[https://www.class-central.com/mooc/1713/coursera-r-
programmi...](https://www.class-central.com/mooc/1713/coursera-r-
programming#reviews)

Learning how to learn is the best course online that any one can take.

~~~
scrollaway
I've been spending the past hour on "Leaning how to learn" because of the
recommendations here. I was... well, the course was definitely not quite what
I expected.

What I'm seeing here is a bunch of "tricks", and a lot of "brain facts" which
I would usually dismiss as pseudoscience. The course almost feels like a scam.
What gives?

~~~
dhawalhs
All of the course content is based on the hard science, but is simplified so
that every one can understand. You can look at the background of one of the
course instructor:
[https://www.coursera.org/instructor/terry](https://www.coursera.org/instructor/terry)

------
tmbsundar
Learning from Data by Caltech Professor Yaser Abu-Mostafa :
[https://work.caltech.edu/telecourse.html](https://work.caltech.edu/telecourse.html).
There was an edX version last year

MMDS: Mining Massive Datasets by Stanford professors Jure Leskovec, Anand
Rajaraman,Jeff Ullman, Link:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/mmds](https://www.coursera.org/course/mmds)

Neural Networks for Machine Learning: Geoffrey Hinton, Link:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/neuralnets](https://www.coursera.org/course/neuralnets)

Artificial Intelligence for Robotics: Programming a Robotic Car, Sebastian
Thrun Link: [https://www.udacity.com/course/artificial-intelligence-
for-r...](https://www.udacity.com/course/artificial-intelligence-for-robotics
--cs373)

Intro to Artificial Intelligence, Peter Norvig & Sebastian Thrun. This was the
one which started it all in 2011, joined a little late by Andrew Ng's ML
course which has been mentioned already.

Intro to Artificial Intelligence link: [https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-
to-artificial-intellige...](https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-to-
artificial-intelligence--cs271)

~~~
alkalait
I enjoyed MMDS, but the lectures given by Ulman were painful to sit through.
The man could simply not deliver a single sentence not read verbatim from a
screen.

~~~
roye
same here, had to watch some of those lectures at 2x speed

------
cjauvin
Discrete Optimization
[https://www.coursera.org/course/optimization](https://www.coursera.org/course/optimization)
\-- I really enjoyed this challenging class with a very dynamic teacher, and
organized around a set of tough problems that you can tackle using a choice of
optimization paradigms (e.g. you can decide to "specialize" in "local search"
if you want, and try to solve eveything with it).

~~~
piggybox
I did that and it was super fun

------
lindbergh
Convex Optimization by Stephen Boyd (Stanford EE364A) available on itunesU.
There's also a CVX101 Mooc[1], but I don't how it's different from the
original material. IMO it's not the topic itself, but the invaluable material
for machine learning, statistics and applied mathematics. And Boyd has such a
huge insight on the topic it's always a pleasure to watch his lectures.

[1][https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses/Engineering/CVX101/Win...](https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses/Engineering/CVX101/Winter2014/about)

~~~
_raoulcousins
Thanks for sharing! On iTunes U are there assignments or other course
materials, or just the video lectures? I only see the videos there and I'd
like to get my hands dirty practicing assignments and not just watch the
lectures.

~~~
lindbergh
Then I suggest the website of the course where you can find homework and lots
of material. You can follow the course as if you were enrolled. Also the free
pdf copy of the book will certainly be useful.

[http://stanford.edu/class/ee364a/index.html](http://stanford.edu/class/ee364a/index.html)
[http://stanford.edu/~boyd/cvxbook/](http://stanford.edu/~boyd/cvxbook/)

------
tianyicui
Buddhism and Modern Psychology by Robert Wright (author of The Moral Animal).
It uses evolutionary psychology, modularity of mind, and other modern
cognitive science theories to explain why some modern version of the buddhist
teachings (like meditations) work. It includes interesting interviews and
solid book/article recommendations. It's very eye-opening to me and gave me a
whole new perspective about happiness and meaning in life.

[https://www.coursera.org/learn/science-of-
meditation](https://www.coursera.org/learn/science-of-meditation)

~~~
Rambunctious
On the subject of happiness, Prof Raj Raghunathan's "A Life of Happiness and
Fulfillment" is also something I would highly recommend. The learner stands to
gain a lot of insights on the types of motivations serve to enhance as well as
undermine happiness.

Check out
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/happiness](https://www.coursera.org/learn/happiness)

Have changed for the better because of it :)

------
rffn
The Sedgewick/Wayne algorithm classes:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI](https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI)
and
[https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partII](https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partII)

------
kevindeasis
It has been over a year and I haven't finished it yet, but I find it the most
interesting. It's Harvard's philosophy course [1]

Also, intro to comp sci by Harvard's open courseware. Without these, I
might've dropped out of comp sci in my second year [2]

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY)
[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-OxzIC6pic&list=PLvJoKWRPIu...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-OxzIC6pic&list=PLvJoKWRPIu8G6Si7LlvmBPA5rOJ9BA29R)

------
tmlee
I see a lot of tech related courses in this discussion; here is something off
the wall if you are into "Coffee making"
[https://www.skillshare.com/classes/culinary/From-Plant-to-
Cu...](https://www.skillshare.com/classes/culinary/From-Plant-to-Cup-Brew-an-
Amazing-Cup-of-Coffee/351651108)

Made by the guys from The Blue Bottle, splendid tutorial!

------
uvu
This is CS50!

[https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-
har...](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-harvardx-
cs50x)

~~~
marincounty
The Harvard computer sci course really helped me out. I didn't take the class,
but put all classes on my iPod. I would listen to lectures while exercising at
night.

This course really helped me understand the ever changing computer lingo. I
probally should have done the lessons.

Once you get used to the vocabulary, and all the acronyms--it's all starts to
fall into place.

------
cordovas
KhanAcademy!

I would have to say anything on KhanAcademy. Sal Khan just does an incredible
job of explaining things. I particularly like his statistics course as a good
primer into stats or if you need to quickly brush up on the subject

[https://www.khanacademy.org/math/probability/statistics-
infe...](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/probability/statistics-inferential)

~~~
dasboth
Seconded. Brought my linear algebra and probability theory up to scratch
within a day. I don't know what it is about how he explains the material, but
it just clicked for me first time, every time.

------
omilu
sicp is the best programming course hands down.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY&list=PLB63C06FAF...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY&list=PLB63C06FAF154F047)

~~~
ChicagoBoy11
Dat music, tho.

------
dfan
MIT's 8.05x, Mastering Quantum Mechanics
([https://www.edx.org/course/mastering-quantum-mechanics-
mitx-...](https://www.edx.org/course/mastering-quantum-mechanics-mitx-8-05x))

It's the only MOOC I've taken that was anywhere close to the kind of
experience I had as an actual undergraduate at MIT. Outstanding lectures with
accompanying lecture notes, challenging but rewarding problem sets, lots of
interaction by the professor and other staff in the forums.

It's not a course in the sense of having problem sets and grades, but V.
Balakrishnan's lecture series on classical physics
([https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5E4E56893588CBA8](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5E4E56893588CBA8))
is amazing, just incredibly dense with insight.

------
andyjohnson0
Earlier this year I did the Stanford _Introduction to Mathematical Thinking_
course on Coursera [1]. I found it fairly challenging but managed to finish
with a distinction. The instructor was particularly good.

I'm now working through UCSD _Interaction Design_ specialisation [2], which is
a series of courses followed by a project. So far its been very good, although
the short course format (3-4 weeks) means that there isn't time for much of a
community to form among the participants. I've learned a lot though.

I'd recommend both courses.

[1]
[https://www.coursera.org/course/maththink](https://www.coursera.org/course/maththink)

[2] [https://www.coursera.org/specializations/interaction-
design](https://www.coursera.org/specializations/interaction-design)

~~~
codexjourneys
I also loved the Mathematical Thinking course, it was the first MOOC I
completed and still one of my favorites!

------
zzmxleo
The Hardware/Software Interface -
[https://class.coursera.org/hwswinterface-002](https://class.coursera.org/hwswinterface-002)

This course is amazing, especially for the assignments.

------
kenrick95
CS188.1x Artificial Intelligence by BerkeleyX at edx.org. [1] I took this
course back in Spring 2013 and I really enjoy the course project of making an
intelligent Pac-Man. :) Through this course, besides learning AI, I also
learned Python (before this, I didn't know how to code in Python at all). And
with the knowledge from this course, I made a simple connect four game with AI
implementation as the player's opponent. [2]

[1] [https://www.edx.org/course/artificial-intelligence-uc-
berkel...](https://www.edx.org/course/artificial-intelligence-uc-berkeleyx-
cs188-1x)

[2] [http://kenrick95.github.io/c4/demo/](http://kenrick95.github.io/c4/demo/)

~~~
manish_gill
Taking this course right now. Just about to start Homework 2. Awesome stuff.
I've laid out a curriculum for myself starting from this course and ending in
ML expertise. :D

------
shpx
Geoff Hinton's (one of the most important guys in neural nets) coursera course
from 2012 taught me most of what I know about neural nets (he starts with the
basic sigmoid, backprop, convnets, dropout, RBMs and lstm nets).

[https://www.coursera.org/course/neuralnets](https://www.coursera.org/course/neuralnets)

------
menticolcito
[https://courses.platzi.com/](https://courses.platzi.com/), there are like 70
courses in Spanish (frontend, backend, marketing, DBA, DevOps, android and
apple development) but they also have 16 in English, most of them are talks
with the best YC startups CEOs and founders.

------
aaggarwal
Now the MOOCs are all popular, there are a lot of interesting courses out
there, but I feel the best one is still the first online course I took in
2012, the pilot from edX (MITx at that time) - 6.002x Circuits and Electronics
([https://6002x.mitx.mit.edu](https://6002x.mitx.mit.edu)) by Dr. Anant
Agarwal and Dr. Gerald Sussman.

It's an awesome course that introduces one to the electronics that goes behind
modern day computers and smartphones. It really helped me understand how
things work and what questions to ask.

------
citeguised
The Javascript-Courses by Anthony Alicea on Udemy are by far the best I ever
spent money on in terms of learning to code.

[https://www.udemy.com/user/anthonypalicea/](https://www.udemy.com/user/anthonypalicea/)

------
mrgraeme
Eric Lander's incredible 'Introduction to Biology - The Secret of Life' was my
first step away from data analysis for online marketing clients (which I
didn't love) to bioinformatics (which I do very much love)

[https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-biology-secret-
life-...](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-biology-secret-life-
mitx-7-00x-2)

A Fantastic course from a legendary educator.

~~~
bewe42
I'd like to second this. I had only slight interest in Biology but got
completely hooked into the course because the teacher makes things so
plausible and exciting. I wish one could do bioinformatics remotely, I'd
seriously change careers ;)

------
thecolorblue
Yale has a great class on Game Theory. It provides some alternatives to
solving problems from the normal CS algorithms.

[http://oyc.yale.edu/economics/econ-159](http://oyc.yale.edu/economics/econ-159)

------
liquidmetal
Great suggestions here. Have you looked at this repository:
[https://github.com/prakhar1989/awesome-
courses](https://github.com/prakhar1989/awesome-courses)

It's a collection of some of the best courses on the internet. The topics
covered is quite diverse - but mostly related to computer science.

------
adi92
HBX Core

[http://hbx.hbs.edu/hbx-core](http://hbx.hbs.edu/hbx-core)

Its a paid online business course by Harvard Business School with 3 modules -
Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, Financial Accounting

Material is not super challenging (maybe except for Accounting), but its still
a lot of work and very rewarding. There is a strong social element to the
course because they incentivize students to ask and answer each other's
questions. At the end of it, you have to go to a testing centre and give a 3
hour exam on everything they have taught you. I finished this course a few
months ago and really enjoyed the material and all the people I met through
it. Highly recommend!

------
maurits
Convolutional Networks from Stanford [1]. No video, but comes with a wonderful
set of ipython notebooks to illustrate and work with cnn's.

Statistical Mechanics Algorithms and Computations [2]. Very well done video's
shot in a studio with a green screen. Comes with massive amounts of small
python programs to illustrate the material.

[1]: [http://cs231n.stanford.edu/](http://cs231n.stanford.edu/)

[2]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/smac](https://www.coursera.org/course/smac)

------
nihils
Abstract Algebra by Benedict Gross from the Harvard Extension School.

~~~
auvrw
this looks like [+] an excellent course, if only b/c it uses a text by Artin.

[+] [http://wayback.archive-
it.org/3671/20150529001651/https://ww...](http://wayback.archive-
it.org/3671/20150529001651/https://www.extension.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/openlearning/math222/files/OLI_MathE222_Syllabus.pdf)

------
glennos
Paid, but I got a lot of this course for learning Ruby/Rails
[https://www.gotealeaf.com/](https://www.gotealeaf.com/)

------
nwjtkjn
[https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI](https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partI)
[https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partII](https://www.coursera.org/course/algs4partII)

I took these to prepare for first-job interviews coming out of grad school.
Got an offer from a company frequently mentioned on this site, so I guess they
helped.

------
truncate
For statistics I really liked Data Analysis and Statistical Inference by Mine
Çetinkaya-Rundel. I think I understood statistics beyond formulas after I took
this course. Apart from typical pen and paper problems, you also get
programming exercises in R.

[https://www.coursera.org/course/statistics](https://www.coursera.org/course/statistics)

~~~
geomark
+1 I recently completed this course. It's really quite good.

------
kregasaurusrex
Introduction to Cryptography, by Christof Paar. His book ' Understanding
Cryptography: A Textbook for Students and Practitioners' also provides great
insight to the subject.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aHkqB2-46k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aHkqB2-46k)

------
erikbigelow
So much for having any extra free time after reading these comments

------
digitalzombie
Andrew Ng's ML Stanford Online Class. This was before Coursera, the first one
and the one that got me hooked into ML and Data Science.

After a few years working in the work force I decided to go back to get a
master in Statistic to get into this field once and for all.

------
zan5hin
Developing iOS 8 Apps with Swift
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/developing-ios-8-apps-
swi...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/developing-ios-8-apps-
swift/id961180099)

------
Pamar
I really enjoied Introduction to Operations Management
([https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-
operations](https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-operations)) which is not
about CS/IT but more about organizing process workflow (i.e. how to make
shops, plants or any kind of multi-operator job more efficient).

I also liked a Coursera one titled "Data Analysis" but the url now returns a
404
([https://www.coursera.org/course/dataanalysis](https://www.coursera.org/course/dataanalysis))
and it probably morphed in something slightly different.

------
thallian
Not technology related:

A Global History of Architecture: [https://www.edx.org/course/global-history-
architecture-mitx-...](https://www.edx.org/course/global-history-architecture-
mitx-4-605x3)

~~~
RajuVarghese
I am currently doing this course and love every minute of it. The course is
more of a history course than architecture per se. You will get a grand ride
through the centuries all the way from 3000 BCE to the present.

------
awjr
I've found Deborah Kurata's course content good
[https://www.pluralsight.com/authors/deborah-
kurata](https://www.pluralsight.com/authors/deborah-kurata) in particular
[https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/angularjs-line-of-
busine...](https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/angularjs-line-of-business-
applications)

My only issue is her voice can be very monotonous and I find it hard to do
more than an hour without having to walk away and wake myself up. Her course
content is very good though.

------
jestinjoy1
I a compsci grad. My favorite one is

The Hardware/Software Interface:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/hwswinterface](https://www.coursera.org/course/hwswinterface)

------
jatemack
Best general CS class I have found so far. Well laid out, easy to follow, and
very informative.

[http://csfieldguide.org.nz/index.html](http://csfieldguide.org.nz/index.html)

------
riffraff
My technology related list includes most of the same courses already listed.
But off-technology, the "modern history" class (which appears to have been
split in two[0]) was incredibly entertaining and gripping in addition to being
educational.

[0] [https://www.coursera.org/learn/modern-
world](https://www.coursera.org/learn/modern-world) [1]
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/modern-
world-2](https://www.coursera.org/learn/modern-world-2)

------
manish_gill
If anybody has a good course on Compilers except the old one that's on
Coursera (which was decent but honestly the instructor wasn't amazing at
holding my attention), that would be awesome. :)

~~~
estefan
Just watch it at double speed and he only needs to hold your attention for
half as long :-D - plus you _really_ need to concentrate.

------
dirtyaura
Andrew Ng's machine learning course on Coursera.

Surprisingly, I also found Khan Academy's organic chemistry videos very
helpful when I was studying bioinformatics and needed to refresh my chemistry
skills

------
hendry
I dare say Ryan Kroonenburg's [https://www.udemy.com/aws-certified-developer-
associate-2015...](https://www.udemy.com/aws-certified-developer-
associate-2015/)

Also if you're into getting into making videos,
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lessons-for-final-cut-
pro-x/...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lessons-for-final-cut-
pro-x/id952621966?mt=12) was surprisingly good 10 bucks spent.

------
bartekko
Something a bit different - I really enjoyed Robert's Electronics Design
courses: [http://www.fedevel.com/academy/schematic-pcb-design-
course-o...](http://www.fedevel.com/academy/schematic-pcb-design-course-
online/)

It teaches all the tips and tricks to make professional designs, a ton more
practical knowledge than my university course or my first EE job.

------
hrnnnnnn
Fundamentals of Music Theory. The instructors were really active in the
facebook group, and took time to make extra videos to answer common questions.

The quizzes were good and fairly marked, the exam was tough, but the peer-
review guidelines for it were very clear and easy to follow.

[https://www.coursera.org/course/musictheory](https://www.coursera.org/course/musictheory)

------
mark_l_watson
I took Andrew Ng's machine learning class twice (scored >99% both times). That
was my favorite. I have been working in the AI field since the 1980s,
including a lot of neural network applications, but I still found his class to
be an incredible source of practical knowledge.

Other favorites were Martin Odersky's functional programming with Scala and
Erik Meijer's Haskell class at eDX.

------
jaysoncena
Cloud Computing Concepts by Indranil Gupta
[https://www.coursera.org/course/cloudcomputing](https://www.coursera.org/course/cloudcomputing)

I thought this was just about VPS, virtualization, NoSQL DBs but I was amazed
that it also includes different algorithms for distributed systems like
Gossips, MapReduce, Paxos, etc.

------
harveylord
I found this course on European painting between 1400 to 1800 to be both well
organised/presented and very beneficial in every area of life:
[https://www.edx.org/course/european-paintings-leonardo-
rembr...](https://www.edx.org/course/european-paintings-leonardo-rembrandt-
uc3mx-ceh-1-enx).

------
estefan
Can anyone recommend a course on business organisation? I'm planning on
starting a startup and want to round out my business knowledge as to who I
should hire.

I want to stay in charge of tech & strategy while letting someone else manage
finance, hr, etc. I couldn't find a single one that actually explains what a
CEO does on coursera/edx/novoed.

~~~
tmbsundar
Try Steve Blank's How to Build a Startup. Link:
[https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-a-startup--
ep245](https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-a-startup--ep245)

~~~
estefan
This doesn't seem to cover business organisation either. I know there are
plenty of these "how to start a startup" courses, but i'm looking to fill in a
specific niche of knowledge, not have to sift through another general course.

That said I've heard great things about "4 steps" but haven't got round to
reading it yet so I guess it's worth a watch based on the instructor, so
thanks anyway.

------
uulbiy
My Coursera profile lists 67 courses, I have completed ~15 of them and with a
passing grade ~8 of them. My most favorite one, which for me was the hardest
as well, was The Hardware/Software Interface by Gaetano Borriello and Luis
Ceze[1]. I also liked Computer Networks[2] even though it's an introductory
course, Functional Programming Principles in Scala[3] which is surprisingly
easy unlike the follow up course[4], High Performance Scientific Computing[5],
Software Security[6] and Cryptography[7] although I prefer Boneh's class. For
non-IT related courses I liked Think Again: How to Reason and Argue[8],
Crafting an Effective Writer: Tools of the Trade (Fundamental English
Writing)[9], Child Nutrition and Cooking[10] and Work Smarter, Not Harder:
Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity[11].

I often take time to think why I have so many started but not finished
courses. Most of them are abandoned on the first week and my assumption is
that when I enroll my expectations for the course content and the workload
needed are wrong.

Occasionally, I abandon courses because they demand too much time to get
something working on linux or because of luck of time. The thing that I
noticed about me is that when I get a little behind the schedule then it's
almost certainly that I will abandon the course. Additionally, when I try to
commit on two courses at the same time then it's certain that I will abandon
at least one (usually both).

[1]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/hwswinterface](https://www.coursera.org/course/hwswinterface)

[2]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/comnetworks](https://www.coursera.org/course/comnetworks)

[3]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/progfun](https://www.coursera.org/course/progfun)

[4]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/reactive](https://www.coursera.org/course/reactive)

[5]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/scicomp](https://www.coursera.org/course/scicomp)

[6]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/softwaresec](https://www.coursera.org/course/softwaresec)

[7]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/cryptography](https://www.coursera.org/course/cryptography)

[8]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/thinkagain](https://www.coursera.org/course/thinkagain)

[9]:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/basicwriting](https://www.coursera.org/course/basicwriting)

[10]:
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/childnutrition/home/welcome](https://www.coursera.org/learn/childnutrition/home/welcome)

[11]: [https://www.coursera.org/learn/work-smarter-not-
harder/home/...](https://www.coursera.org/learn/work-smarter-not-
harder/home/welcome)

------
senith
Not technology related but I personally like Aswath Damodaran's valuation
courses [http://www.graduatetutor.com/corporate-finance-
tutoring/aswa...](http://www.graduatetutor.com/corporate-finance-
tutoring/aswath-damodaran-tutoring/)

------
tmpz
Erik Meijer's FP101x Functional Programming (Haskell and others)
[https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-functional-
programmi...](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-functional-programming-
delftx-fp101x-0)

------
BillySquid
Coursera Calculus 1 -
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/calculus1/home/welcome](https://www.coursera.org/learn/calculus1/home/welcome)
, Jim Fowler makes Calculus a very entertaining topic.

------
sferoze
Marvin Minsky, Society of Mind Class Lecture Playlist on Youtube -
[https://youtu.be/-pb3z2w9gDg?list=PLqw2b1BiJEx8Ii2RJBk9C0iC3...](https://youtu.be/-pb3z2w9gDg?list=PLqw2b1BiJEx8Ii2RJBk9C0iC3pG__EpSJ)

------
mrestko
As a medical student, I though the Coursera course on Clinical Problem Solving
was quite good:
[https://www.coursera.org/course/clinprobsolv](https://www.coursera.org/course/clinprobsolv)

------
nibs
Learn to Program: The Fundamentals by U of T on Coursera
[https://www.coursera.org/course/programming1](https://www.coursera.org/course/programming1)

Did not see any other mentions. It was excellent.

------
Nonsns
Roy Osherove 's TDD master class changed the way we worked at Aol.

------
dbcooper
Can anyone recommend a bioinformatics course (esp. an intro level one)?

~~~
lujayne
I've only just started it, but this looks great in terms of the content they
cover, and they also provide quite a few programming tasks.
[https://class.coursera.org/hiddenmessages-006](https://class.coursera.org/hiddenmessages-006)

------
facepalm
My favorite was Dan Ariely's Introduction to Irrational Behavior.

~~~
qrendel
Seconded - perhaps not my absolute top favorite but definitely one of the most
memorable I've taken.

------
alador
IMHO, the best course website is
[http://www.freecodecamp.com/](http://www.freecodecamp.com/) to learn Modern
App Development.

------
damian2000
Engineering Software as a Service: An Agile Approach Using Cloud Computing

[http://www.saasbook.info/courses](http://www.saasbook.info/courses)

------
tmaly
Can anyone recommend their favorite way to learn foreign languages? I am
curious if there are any new online courses that have made improvements in
this area.

~~~
marai2
Not new - but I had the most fun and most progress with learning French with
[https://www.duolingo.com/](https://www.duolingo.com/) My kids got into it as
well and at one point we would all sit together and do one lesson a day.

------
c1
YouTube CrashCourse

~~~
kleer001
Anatomy & Physiology

U.S. Government and Politics

Economics

Intellectual Property

Astronomy

Philosophy

World History

Literature

Biology

and more!

[https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse/playlists](https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse/playlists)

------
wkoszek
I liked CodeSchool: not everything there is great, but is very good overall,
has a great structure and can teach you many technologies.

------
headshot
Peter Norvig's "Design of Computer Programs" on udacity.com

------
sidcool
Great replies! Thanks guys!

~~~
wkoszek
Feel free to consolidate the list and publish somewhere. This thread got
lenghty.

------
dools
mixergy.com

