No matter how big a splash you make in this world whether you're Corey Feldman, Frankie Muniz, Justin Bieber or a talking teddy bear, eventually, nobody gives a shit. - a quote from 'Ted' the movie...
well... however sad this might be... it is the truth... there has been a lot of stories on Aaron and I think now some people are sort of getting tired of hearing about him all the time...
I guess they are counting on the premise that in future people who have their info public on facebook will increase... Given the things they have accomplished so far and the amount of investment that has gone into facebook, It will not be surprising if someday FB does add user web surfing data... (permission-based of course)
Hi, your comments intrigued me and I did a little research about the same. I've added another section to the article and tried to answer these questions. Please let me know what you think.
The site looks more like a tech blog (like techcrunch etc. but still in its nascent stages) than an online learning platform. The content does not match up to the standards of what you will call education. It has a long way to go before it justifies being an online learning platform...
True. We are currently focussing on getting good teachers on board. Therefore the look. And yes we are not yet what you would call a platform. Any changes in design that you suggest?
If you really want feedback, then I think the name 'LurnQ' is a very bad name for an educational website. I assume you are mis-spelling "learn", which just feels wrong for education (assuming you are trying to increase education!). If this is not what the name means, I apologise.
I understand that the twitter and facebook feeds may be full of content that you did not want, but you have not deleted it.
And all the content I have seen on there just does not belong on an education site at all: maybe I have a different idea of what 'education' means, but all of the content I have seen just doesn't match, in my opinion.
As for the format, it looks like a blog entry followed by blog-style replies. Which is mean to be the teacher? The format itself is confusing.
who uses Bing anyway... their results seem useless when compared with Google's.. or just that google has a lot of my data to assess what results I would wan't first...
I still doubt that online courses could be ever a replacement for that good old one on one classroom session... the discussions and interactions between good students and professors... I find there's no faster way to learn than when an expert explains something to you in person, you can ask questions there and then... clarify them and move on. In an online lecture if I get stuck... I'll have to pause, clarify my question searching on google(sometimes not easy), then get back to the rest of the lecture.
Pitting online courses against one-on-one sessions with good professors is great if you have that privilege.
I'm currently in Nepal, where I have spent some time teaching kids QBasic, one on one, so they can pass their grade 10 school leaving exam.
You read that right: QBasic. The curriculum and pedagogy here is so ancient, most students would be vastly better off learning from Khan Academy than from their teachers. Lucky students get the hell out of the country rather than study at a university here. Those stuck here would be better served with MOOCs.
It may not but its enabling people to learn new things. The most difficult part which i find if i want to learn things on my own is the direction. Its like when you are reading a book you can not just read different chapters from different places, you may go to other places for references. What online platform like Coursera provides is direction.
P.S. Yeah i also doubt that it could ever be replacement for one on one classroom session.
My thought is that a Ferrari is better than a Toyota. But a Toyota is about 90% as good as a Ferrari and it serves 1000x more people. And in some ways (safety, gas mileage) a Toyota does outperform a Ferrari.
loved your analogy... but you see I use Toyota all the time... just that if I have a choice between a Toyota and a Ferrari, I'll go with Ferrari if I have the resources. Anyways I love Coursera, I am taking a lot of classes there. Remember a lot of quality of a course depends on how well the teacher conveys it whether its a lecture hall or an online course.
From my experience with edX, online courses are the Ferrari in your analogy.
1. It is easier to concentrate on a video of a lecture. My friends aren't sitting next to me, the recorded audio projects the information clearly, and noisy neighbours are no longer an issue. The recorded video means everyone can "sit close" to the lecturer, and the ability to pause, rewind and rewatch lectures means I'm more likely swallow it in it's entirety.
2. The ability to participate from any location and at any time means I'm never late and never hungover.
3. Getting your questions answered via email means it can be read multiple times verbatim. Plus the professor is likely to give you a more in-depth response when he can answer in his own time.
4. My couch, lounge chair, and bath are more comfortable than the lecture hall chairs I've sat on in the past.
I feel it's more appropriate to liken online courses to the electric car. They are a more efficient use of resources, and we'll need them if humans are going to overcome the (frighteningly) vast array of current and future problems.
