Online education?

H

HavocXphere

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Lately we've been seeing quite a few respectable institutions launching online programs of some kind.
https://www.coursera.org/
https://www.khanacademy.org/
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

Realistically one won't get "real world" credit for them at this stage, yet I feel that a dedicated person could extract real value from them. It seems to me that the balance has shifted significantly & now favours the dedicated & committed student.

NB at this stage I'm not suggesting that this is a viable substitute to a proper SA uni education. It just seems to me that there is a massive opportunity here though.

Have any of you guys taken such online courses? Experiences? Feedback? Thoughts? etc

Please forgive if I haven't conveyed the message clearly here...I just feel...this is happening & we should be discussing this for the benefit of the community.
 
I use the MIT Open CourseWare to supplement what I'm learning in my degree, its really helpful especially if I'm not grasping a concept in class
 
I think it will definitely benefit people in terms of their own personal education. As far as 'employment' goes I think employers may still be stuck in the past, looking for degrees.
 
I'm a coursera and UNISA student and I'm getting more value out of coursera which is 1st level (foundation) modules compared to my 3rd level (final year) modules at UNISA.

And you can get real world credits for certain coursera courses.

Also managers and employers are starting to value coursera.
 
Pooky said:
I think it will definitely benefit people in terms of their own personal education. As far as 'employment' goes I think employers may still be stuck in the past, looking for degrees.
Click to expand...

Don't knock a degree at all. Keep in mind a coursera course is only 6-12 weeks partime and then its done whereas a degree is 3 years fulltime or 7 years partime, way more dedication required.

But these online courses will also eventually lead to degrees and I cannot wait as its the future of education. But until then these courses compliment your existing studies and give your CV your the edge.
 
Well, yes it has - I've learn't new programming languages and successfully implemented these at the company I work for.

I mainly share these video with JNR staff that don't have degrees. I've noticed that the dedicated few, who have shown interest has grown quite a bit. They a becoming team members that are dependable.
 
cbrunsdonza said:
Don't knock a degree at all. Keep in mind a coursera course is only 6-12 weeks partime and then its done whereas a degree is 3 years fulltime or 7 years partime, way more dedication required.

But these online courses will also eventually lead to degrees and I cannot wait as its the future of education. But until then these courses compliment your existing studies and give your CV your the edge.
Click to expand...

Hell I'm just about to finish a degree and question whether I have learned anything useful.
 
Sadly, to most students of today, universities sell accreditation, not education.
 
HavocXphere said:
Realistically one won't get "real world" credit for them at this stage
Click to expand...

Coursera has something called Signature Track which gives you official recognition from the university itself for completing the said course, instead of just getting it from Coursera. But this will set you back $50 of course, and is not available to all of the courses.
 
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