Re:A.I. will have implications for education, welfare and ge...
by chongli on Wednesday October 24, 2018 @05:19PM
(#18296507)
I had the same reaction as you. I think MOOCs are lacking in more than just this area. I'll use myself as an example:
I used MOOCs to learn various programming languages, simple database queries (insert, update, select with join, etc.) and how to use APIs with JSON. Lots of fun stuff. But when I came to university I started being taught all kinds of math and CS stuff through difficult assignments and tight deadlines that I never would have done on my own.
Yes, you technically can learn a lot of math and other things through MOOCs but it's not always as fun. The advantage of university is that they give you a set of required courses for a major and you have to take them, whether they're fun or not. Sometimes the courses which are the least fun turn out to be extremely valuable later on.
I used MOOCs to learn various programming languages, simple database queries (insert, update, select with join, etc.) and how to use APIs with JSON. Lots of fun stuff. But when I came to university I started being taught all kinds of math and CS stuff through difficult assignments and tight deadlines that I never would have done on my own.
Yes, you technically can learn a lot of math and other things through MOOCs but it's not always as fun. The advantage of university is that they give you a set of required courses for a major and you have to take them, whether they're fun or not. Sometimes the courses which are the least fun turn out to be extremely valuable later on.