Distractions from writing: MOOCs

I have become addicted to MOOCs (Massively Open On-line Courses).  In the last year and a half I have probably taken close to twenty of them.  Usually they are about 6 to 12 weeks long.  I sometimes take as many as 7 or 8 at the same time.  Of course I mostly just watch the lectures and don't bother too much with the exams or assignments, although I do them if I think they will bolster my learning - as opposed to simply providing a grading mechanism.  I do find it strange how much people obsess over marks in a non-credit course.  To me it is all about the learning and, at my age, I'm not going to cram for a test when I know that I won't retain that detail and don't need it anyway.

It is interesting to see the evolution of these courses.  I started with an Introduction to AI course offered by Stanford.  That program immediately morphed into Udacity and Coursera.  I have taken many courses in both of those programs.  I have also registered for a few other MOOC providers, such as Ed X but I haven't taken any of their courses yet.  I recently started a Complexity course offered by the Santa Fe Institute.  All of these are quite good and the level of sophistication is improving.  There have been a couple of courses that  I did not think were that good, but they were still ok.

These courses are here to stay and they will improve learning overall.  The only thing that I am worried about is what will happen when there is the inevitable move to monetize the courses.  I have noticed that some courses are now offering some type of recognized certificate based on a fee payment in addition to the course requirements.  I think that will detract from the spirit of the MOOC.

I guess the one down side for me is that I spend so much time with these courses that I am not writing and I need to strike a balance in that regard.  Hey, I'm actually taking a MOOC on ADHD, which for me, seeing as I am taking about seven or eight courses at the same time right now, is totally ironic.

Sleep time.