Many Great, Free, Online Courses in Science, Engineering and More
Posted on January 16, 2013 Comments (8)
The video, above, provides an overview of an online course, Calculus: Single Variable, via coursera from the University of Pennsylvania. This course provides a brisk, entertaining treatment of differential and integral calculus, with an emphasis on conceptual understanding and applications to the engineering, physical, and social sciences.
Robert Ghrist is the Andrea Mitchell University Professor of Mathematics and Electrical & Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Coursera offers many courses in all sorts of disciplines including: Introduction to Genetics and Evolution (Duke), Scientific Computing (University of Washington), Principles of Economics for Scientists (California Institute of Technology), Game Theory (Stanford University and The University of British Columbia), A Beginner’s Guide to Irrational Behavior (Dan Ariely, Duke University), The Modern World: Global History since 1760 (University of Virginia), Microeconomics for Managers (University of California, Irvine), Data Analysis (Johns Hopkins University), Fundamentals of Human Nutrition (University of Florida), Algorithms, Part I (Princeton University), The Ancient Greeks (Wesleyan University), Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life (University of Edinburgh) and Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression, (University of Melbourne).
All the classes are free. These courses, and many more, are extremely appealing. I signed up for 2. I would be interested in signing up for much more but I worry about having the time to commit to keeping up with the coursework. I hope the first two go well and I can sign up for more in the future.
Related: Top Online Graduate Engineering Programs in the USA – Open Source Education Curricula – Science and Engineering Education Resources – Exploring Eukaryotic Cells
Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression:
Categories: Engineering, Math, Students, Universities
Tags: cool, learning, Math, Universities, webcasts
8 Responses to “Many Great, Free, Online Courses in Science, Engineering and More”
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January 18th, 2013 @ 4:27 pm
I think it’s fantastic that universities are doing this now. I took a 12-week EE course from MIT last spring, and I was blown away by the fact that I was able to watch the lectures, view the demos, do the labs, take the exams – all online, and all for free, and taught by one of the most highly respected EE professors in the world. I’ve been working through some of the other open courseware at MIT and Stamford, and I’ve learned so much that way. I’m still blown away that all this is freely available to anyone willing to put forth the effort to learn.
January 19th, 2013 @ 2:25 am
Great to know about these free online courses. Surely I’ll signed up for one. Thanks for sharing.
January 22nd, 2013 @ 6:01 am
Hmm, this is something I lust might look into. I had the chance to take calculus in high school but passed it up and have always regretted doing so. Woodshop was fun sure, but not all that useful afterwards. It seems like something I could actually put to use in my everyday life.
January 30th, 2013 @ 9:55 am
As an engineer for over 30 years I would say continuing education is important. But engineer can be purposely ignorant. The fact of the matter engineers, especially management can be corrupt. I think this is particularly true in the Aerospace/Defense Industry. I’ve had to quit jobs because I was told to approve a design that clearly did not work and which later had fail test and was redesigned. This experience happens much too often.
The other thing engineers need to know is that they have very little control over their salary. In the early days after the WWII and up to the late 70’s early 80’s corporations were being caught in conspiracy to control wedges of engineers. They are smarter now and leave less of a trail But I often been told that “I spoke to you previous manager at XYZ”. Well that happen too much and in fact I caught one manger discussing the billing rate of one former contract employee.
Oh, I’ve written my Senator as well as members of the Labor Committee. Well that only got less work. Yes, my senator from NV turned me in. And I suffered for years. In spite of the fact that I’ve been told that I am one of the best FEA/Stress/Dynamics Engineer the customer has seen. I have major designs and major cost savings and have done some incredible things to fix screws and come from behind secludes. I have design/analyzed F22, F35, Space Shuttle new engine, Atlas V, Cruse Missile, C5, 777, Pershing I and II, cruse missile, Several Nuclear Power Plants, Several Oil Refineries, Electrostatic precipitators, Solar Power plants, and a whole bunch of components. My point is that I know what I’m doing.
Engineering starting salaries have not gone up. You would think that if the demand is so high why have the starting salaries have not gone up in real dollars. Yes, adjusted for inflation the salaries have stayed level. I’ve studied economics, al lot. The law of supply and demand says it should be going up, but it is not. All the talk of the New World Economy has screwed engineers. Today, I believe that over 405 of the engineers are imported. Do that not change the supply side of the supply and demand?
The federal government is the single biggest user of engineers. With the DOD, DOE, NASA, NAVY, AirForce, NRC, EPA,ect. Government is the biggest customer of engineering manpower. They have an interest in keeping Engineering salaries down.
I love engineering, but if I had to do it all over, I would not chose it now.
February 5th, 2013 @ 11:59 pm
I think it’s fantastic that universities are doing this now. I took a 12-week EE course from MIT last spring, and I was blown away by the fact that I was able to watch the lectures, view the demos, do the labs, take the exams – all online, and all for free, and taught by one of the most highly respected EE professors in the world. I’ve been working through some of the other open courseware at MIT and Stamford, and I’ve learned so much that way. I’m still blown away that all this is freely available to anyone willing to put forth the effort to learn.
May 18th, 2013 @ 8:20 am
I also love Coursera as it has completely changed the way we attain education. MOOC has played a key role in changing our perception about e-learning. I think we are lucky to be part of this revolution that’s happening right now.
July 27th, 2013 @ 11:13 am
[…] cool site for learning about biology. I have tried the courses offered by Coursera but they are too structured for my taste. I want to be able to learn at my pace and dip into the […]
June 19th, 2015 @ 8:00 am
I’ve been working through some of the other open courseware at MIT and Stamford, and I’ve learned so much that way. I’m still blown away that all this is freely available to anyone willing to put forth the effort to learn.