MIT offering free online courses to the world - does anyone care?

Ground Pounder · #1 08-23-2009, 11:36 AM

MIT has a web-based program which offers free online courseware for nearly all of their curriculum. There's no sign-up, no commitments, no funny business - it's a "here it is, come and take it." deal.

Caviat - you don't get college credits, grades, or degrees. There's no formal record that you've done any work, any studying, no test scores, no pass or fail.

What you DO get is access to some of the finest learning and educational materials from one of the most prestegious schools in the world.

So the question is, will anyone really use it? Will the availability of world-class knowledge appeal to the masses if there's no ribbon-tied piece of paper to be had?

Edit: Here's a link: http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

bassrique · #2 08-23-2009, 11:42 AM

Great resource. Thanks.

tplyons · #3 08-23-2009, 11:46 AM

I'm all for it. I never believed in getting an education in order to get a degree, but rather to better myself and my understanding of the world. Education has become far too materialistic, and I pride myself in knowing more than my degree tells people I do.

IconBasser · #4 08-23-2009, 11:54 AM

hey, if it inspires people to be intelligent I'm all for it. A knowledgeable society is a good thing to have.

Smurf-o-Deth · #5 08-23-2009, 12:12 PM

People who understand knowledge in and of itself to be rewarding will care. People who measure their college successes in how many beers they shotgun will not.

kanonfodr · #6 08-23-2009, 12:13 PM

It's a great idea for the free learning, but I do see the downfall of not offering a degree attached to your hard work. Few will take advantage of it, but it is a step in the right direction in my eyes.

Hopefully within a decade anybody will be able to go to college and earn a degree without having to come from the richest family in town or jump through a million hoops to get financial aid and still ending up with a mortgage of education debt.

Peace,
Greg

NJL · #7 08-23-2009, 12:15 PM

great thread!

Joe Gress · #8 08-23-2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

Hopefully within a decade anybody will be able to go to college and earn a degree without having to come from the richest family in town or jump through a million hoops to get financial aid and still ending up with a mortgage of education debt.

Peace,
Greg

Like when hell freezes over as well. :sigh:

Jefenator · #9 08-23-2009, 12:36 PM

This will help a great deal with my "giant" "laser" project.

Darkstrike · #10 08-23-2009, 12:43 PM

Dig it, bookmarked.

Kipaste · #11 08-23-2009, 02:07 PM

I think it's a great idea. I look forward to digging into some of that, especially American history and of course biology. Thanks for the link!

They could even continue to improve it. It would be great to have a possibility to actually take the tests, even if it would mean paying the salary of for the people arranging the whole thing. Having it cost some money could eliminate all the people trying it for kicks. But I doubt that will ever happen. It would take away some of the prestige of school and maybe be a bit unfair for those people who have worked their asses off to get into MIT in the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

Hopefully within a decade anybody will be able to go to college and earn a degree without having to come from the richest family in town or jump through a million hoops to get financial aid and still ending up with a mortgage of education debt.

How expensive is it in the US? I'm not necessarily talking IVY league, but in general?

I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do, but it sort of seems like such a waste to not provide education to everyone who otherwise meets the criteria simply because they can't afford it. Many people who might become very succesfull on the academic field are left behind when there is an increasing demand for highly educated and specialised workforce. Seems odd to me.

SonofJud · #12 08-23-2009, 02:11 PM

I read an article about that recently, about allowing everyone to study and just charging for the tests. It would be interesting. My issue with the site is that whenever I have gone to it the only classes offered are intro level classes; I was intending to use it as a cross reference for my own classes but now that is a moot point. Also, if you wanted to learn a subject on your own, you can only get so far with an intro class.

bassrique · #13 08-23-2009, 02:20 PM

I would be reading Pericles by Plutarch right now, but I'm currently busy watching a Korean man play bass in a tutu while drinking enough milk to induce vomiting.

Waterpilot · #14 08-23-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

It's a great idea for the free learning, but I do see the downfall of not offering a degree attached to your hard work. Few will take advantage of it, but it is a step in the right direction in my eyes.

Hopefully within a decade anybody will be able to go to college and earn a degree without having to come from the richest family in town or jump through a million hoops to get financial aid and still ending up with a mortgage of education debt.

Peace,
Greg

Maybe this kind of thinking (not saying it's yours) is the problem... Some people don't want to do the work for work sake and to better themselves. They need something for their work besides their own satisfaction.

There are all sorts of things available to go to a 4 year school or Community College. I know a girl who was a single mother at 18, who's Mother was a little crazy (moved away as well), and Father was in another State. She had no one but her older married sister to help baby sit. She worked full time, and put herself through school utilizing loans and grants and received her AA degree in Criminal Justice. Some just have to work a little harder then others...

Dirk Diggler · #15 08-23-2009, 02:54 PM

I'm on my way there right now, thanks a bunch for the link.
Knowledge is more valuable than any piece of paper, especially if the price is $0 for that knowledge. But then again isn't money just a piece of paper anyway? I'm going to MIT!
Why wouldn't everyone do it?
Dirk

Ground Pounder · #16 08-23-2009, 03:19 PM

After spending a few hours browsing the material, here's what I found:

1) They're not posting textbooks, so to follow most of these courses you'd have to purchase a seperate textbook (they have links to most of these via amazon).

2) The organization is based on when the classes became available, and don't follow any guidelines. For example, Calculus is listed before Algebra 1. But, you can go to MIT's standard website and review their degree requirement recommended steps, which helps to know what order you should take.

3) Many of the courses have all of the coursework, labwork, and tests posted, as well as many of the "answer sheets".

4) The biggest disappointment is that they don't have, and don't plan to incorporate, any type of interactivity tools, so community-based learning isn't supported directly by MIT.

**bassybill** · #17 08-23-2009, 03:47 PM

This is an interesting discussion, thanks for the link.

Definitely a move in the right direction. Colleges, schools and universities need to drop the idea of academic awards completely. No degrees, diplomas or any other sort of certification. Then and only then will people get a really worthwhile education instead of what passes for it at present.

Muusers · #18 08-23-2009, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

Hopefully within a decade anybody will be able to go to college and earn a degree without having to come from the richest family in town or jump through a million hoops to get financial aid and still ending up with a mortgage of education debt.

Peace,
Greg

You mean like in the Netherlands? Still expensive but most people can afford it because it's government funded.

Muusers · #19 08-23-2009, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

Definitely a move in the right direction. Colleges, schools and universities need to drop the idea of academic awards completely. No degrees, diplomas or any other sort of certification. Then and only then will people get a really worthwhile education instead of what passes for it at present.

Well that would be stupid. If you can't get a degree or anything, then what's the point of going there in the first place. Besides how else would you verify if someone got this and this education and is therefore qualified for a job? To me, a simple paper stating it is the easiest solution.

Waterpilot · #20 08-23-2009, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muusers

Well that would be stupid. If you can't get a degree or anything, then what's the point of going there in the first place. Besides how else would you verify if someone got this and this education and is therefore qualified for a job? To me, a simple paper stating it is the easiest solution.

Yeah it would seem that some sort of verification or certification would be needed...

And thanks for the link BTW. Fantastic!