
MIT OpenCourseWare introduces courses designed for independent learners - ashwinl
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/mitocw-independent-learners.html
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thebigredjay
As a young autodidact struggling to fit into the traditional education world
this is a welcome gift. To me a traditional diploma granting institution is
now akin to a rubber stamp. You're not paying for the education, you're paying
for the brand under the assumption that it will get you a job. I could rant,
but I plan on doing it in a cohesive and informed blog release or something at
a later date.

MIT diffuses my cynicism with steps like this. In an academic system I do not
trust there are clearly intelligent like minded people enabled to make a
difference. After years of dreading my involvement with academia, movements
like this make me want to wander back in with an open mind.

If anyone involved with MIT OpenCourseWare ever reads this please know that I
respect and appreciate what you have done for people thirsty for knowledge.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

~~~
lars512
Well, by attending a traditional institution you're really paying firstly for
experts to take partial responsibility for your learning, enough to stake some
of their reputation on it, and secondly for entrance to a club of peers of
similar ability to learn with.

With more and more material available online, I can see how taking full
responsibility for your own learning is less daunting than it once was. I'm
still curious as to what will replace the role of peers of similar ability in
this self-learning model.

~~~
andrewacove
In my experience at one of those traditional institutions, those experts often
couldn't care less about any responsibility to undergrads. Their job is to do
research, and to get grants to support that research. The number of professors
for whom teaching was clearly a nuisance was one of the most depressing parts
of the experience.

Having similarly capable peers is really the primary advantage, especially if
those relationships carry on after you finish.

~~~
thebigredjay
I agree completely, particularly with undergrad educations. Professers aren't
picked on their teaching ability. They really don't have an incentive to
improve the education of their students, other than personal diligence.

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ernestipark
I didn't realize OCW was meant for teachers... I thought it was for
independent learners all along.

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brudgers
Bill Gates has predicted that the best higher education will come from the web
and will be cheaper - this is just another step. [Article:
<http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/06/bill-gates-education/> Video:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Qg80MVvYs&feature=playe...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Qg80MVvYs&feature=player_embedded)]

In the same vein as MIT, UC Berkeley has many lectures on availble on Youtube.
[<http://www.youtube.com/user/UCBerkeley>]

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kmfrk
Great to see that MIT are addressing the most important problem with OCW:
organizing the knowledge intelligibly.

I'm currently having fun with their introduction to programming that uses
Python: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-
comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-
science/6-00-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-
fall-2008/assignments/). (Get the lectures on iTunes U.)

Granted, I don't know if that's the best gateway drug to programming, but it
has the irrefutable advantage of assignments that apply the information. You
always feel morose watching OCW lectures where the lecturer talks about an
assignment that you'd love to do.

~~~
kaylarose
Also another good "beginner" (was already a programmer, and it was still a
great course) course that actually has everything - lectures, notes, textbook,
assignments, tests and answers! - available free online is the UC Berkley
CS61A course.

The course teaches the fundamentals of Computer Science with Scheme (Lisp) and
the book is SICP (a really great all-around CS book). I watched all the
lectures, and did most of the assignments over a month or two last year and
learned a lot. Sometimes you have to Google around for old tests/answer keys,
but resources for the entire course are online. I highly recommend it if you
are remotely interested in programming.

Multiple Semesters of Audio/Video Lectures are on iTunesU

Resources from the Summer 2010 Course:<http://www-
inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/su10/>

Edit: Formatting

~~~
Starmonkey
Great tip, thanks!

If you're like me, and sometimes prefer to have some visual with your audio,
Berkley also provides webcasts of these lectures. Here, for example, is Spring
'08 of CS61A:

[http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906...](http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978502)

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sruffell
The first thought that popped into my mind from reading this was when is there
going to be a bachelor's equivalency exam? Perhaps a new potential market for
the ETS?

~~~
barry-cotter
It isn't a bachelor's equivalency exam but if you take enough credits you can
get a degree entirely by examination.

<http://www.excelsior.edu/ecapps/exams/creditByExam.jsf>

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hashbrown7
This is great news! In most cases the materials on offer were sparse, but an
initiative like this will make it really useful both for autodidacts and
instructors looking for materials.

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nickpinkston
Khan giving them a bit of scare? I bet...

~~~
rtghnthyjnm
I do think this is a genuine attempt to spread knowledge.

Even being cynical there is no real downside for them. People will still want
to go to MIT 'for real' and they will still fill their lecture halls with
paying students - even if MIT could expand to take everyone that wanted to go
there - this would dilute the MIT brand.

Allowing everyone else to get the knowledge for free simply kills the
competition, there is no market for a staet-college online course when you can
have the best for free.

~~~
dagw
Maybe if smaller state-colleges are smart they can leverage OCW to their
advantage. Instead of doing their own lectures and coursework, they'll use OCW
and focus on adding value where OCW cannot with things like instructor led
discussion and Q&A sessions about the lecture you've just seen, helping with
and grading coursework, one-on-one assistance with assignments, handing out
certificates or diplomas upon completing a set of courses, and all the other
good stuff an actual college can to better than a pre-recorded video. In fact
I'd probably sign up and pay money for just that.

~~~
rtghnthyjnm
That was the idea, and why MIT were surprised that most people were using it
on their own.

What I meant was that there was no market for a small college selling lectures
online for $100s when you could get MIT for free. It won't change the
economics of people going to college

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kaylarose
Already posted this in longer form as a reply [1], but the UC Berkeley CS
courses that are available online are really great, and you can usually find
ALL the material for the course online.

If you want to learn Scheme (Lisp), I highly recommend CS61A [2]

[1] <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2103949> [2] <http://www-
inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/su10/> Lectures on iTunesU

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chopsueyar
This is a fantasy come true.

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alextp
I've always been an independent learner, so I think this is great, but the
concept of a "course for independent learners" sounds a lot like herding cats.

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maeon3
8.01 Physics I: Classical Mechanics is Amazing. Walter Lewin makes the bizarre
properties and mysteries of the universe come alive in the classroom.

[http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-01-physics-i-
classical-...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-01-physics-i-classical-
mechanics-fall-1999/video-lectures/)

