What is Digg?110 Comments
- davin510, on 11/05/2007, -8/+72If you can seriously learn the material through ocw alone, you're smarter than 95% of the kids at MIT (I go there).
- paulmike3, on 10/11/2007, -4/+63And the, ya know, degree.
- heaintheavy, on 11/02/2007, -10/+44You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.
- morgret, on 11/02/2007, -0/+30MIT's been doing this online for about five years now, and by this fall with have all of its courses online. No credit or support from the professors, but there's some fairly amazing material out there, including a great physics class with each class videotaped. There are actually many universities and K12 institutions doing this. http://www.oercommons.org has content from many of them, and http://ocwconsortium.org/ also lists other higher education institutions that are part of the OpenCourseWare consortium.
- SillyRabbits, on 10/11/2007, -9/+33Sounds like a liberal arts major talking....
- SaSpursFan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+23A few comments from somebody taking a course this way.
It is a great way to brush up on old material.
It's a bit harder to learn something completely outside of the sphere of what you know.
It goes to show there is more to the value of a college education than the information provided.
There is no time pressure, so you might slack off too much and never gain any momentum.
On a related note, there are no exams, so there's less motivation to focus yourself on making sure you know it.
The availability of supplementary materials and notes varies widely.
Some courses are based on older material. Sometimes this matters, sometimes it doesn't.
The main advantage is that it does give more structure to your learning than merely reading a textbook. - CDoug03, on 11/02/2007, -3/+24NOW, even you at home can have "I'm smarterer than you are because I went to MIT" testosterone for free.
- JEWestbrookJR, on 10/11/2007, -4/+25Like others are saying... the education is nice, but as far as your career goes, you gotta have the degree. The sad thing is, it just needs to be a degree in anything. As long as you have one, they don't care. Just don't get a degree in computers. If IT is what you want to do, get a masters in business management and just get your certs. A+, NET+, Server+, Security+, MCP, MCSA, Cisco, or whatever the hell else. Then you will get a nice job as a project manager and make way more. Plus, the certs are a nice way to prove you know your ***** while getting a degree in a different field to boost your worth.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -6/+20matt daaaaaaaaamon
- Roger, on 10/11/2007, -2/+15I prefer http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php
- Phyltre, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12And, unfortunately, most of what the liberal arts major is saying is accurate. Most people don't end up going into the career of their college major--I've heard that number is as high as 70% but I can't track down the article.
- Akaji, on 10/11/2007, -2/+12Does it have a working joke detector?
- richgustavson, on 10/11/2007, -19/+28The only benefit of going to college (from a career standpoint anyway) is the degree, which pretty much any high paying job requires today. Actually knowledge isn't worth ***** in most jobs today.
- Luigi239, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10Think they have a course in grammar?
- NoOneButMe, on 10/11/2007, -6/+15Awesome the first time around, cool the second, kinda interesting the third, on the upteenth? it's just old.
- physphd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Gil Strang is actully renowned for his teaching ability and his textbook is one of the standard undergrad books on the subject. I used to struggle with this when teaching physics to undergrads. An older prof with an amazing teaching reputation set me straight one day, though. He told me that I "don't need to be entertaining or inspiring, just clear and accessible. If a student can't motivate themself by the time they're in college, what makes you think you can do it for them?" I've taken that to heart. Students don't have to like you to appreciate your class.
- kris33, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9Hilarious description.
What if I'm ugly? Can I still get a free MIT Education? - Loaferz, on 11/02/2007, -10/+16Haha, sweet. College education at home for free! minus the entire college experience.
- SillyRabbits, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Maybe it's 70% for English and Women's Studies majors. However, I imagine the number is much lower for people that studied law, people that studied medicine, people that studied engineering and science, and people that studied business. I imagine they are all effectively using a significant portion of what they learned (and have built on that foundation).
If somebody filled their schedule with 17th century French Literature, nude figure drawing, and "Women's Plight in 1900's Italy" type material.....I really have to question their judgment if they honestly believed that would prepare them for much more than waiting tables and nice scores on bar trivia nights. I guess the harsh reality of the market place has to sinks in eventually. - h4mx0r, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8I could have sworn this was on digg before. I still have this bookmarked.
- ladyspatch, on 10/11/2007, -4/+95 year old news...the sad thing is when delusional people actually believe they have a degree from MIT because they download a lecture
- gtsai85, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7too bad what you really need in the real world is that piece of paper, not actual knowledge.
- omarciddo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Am I the only one who's abandoned toilet readers and now watches podcasts when sitting on the throne?
- Shak, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I love the physics lectures by Professor Walter Lewin ( http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/VideoLectures/index.htm ). Unlike the crap I have to bear in GMU, this guy is actually interested in his field and can teach you a thing or two without putting you to sleep. He even puts his "life on the line" for physics which is more than what I can say for any physics professor here.
- SaSpursFan, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6If you went to MIT, though, it's a great way to make sure you still know the stuff you're supposed to. And it's even better for filling in a few loose holes in the knowledge base. Also, if you went there, you know what standard to hold yourself to when you study. (I'm XVIII, 1988)
- AK444, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Very Good. You can also get at http://freevideolectures.com/ . Great collection of free Educational videos and lectures notes from all the top universities.
- N3M3515, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3You could be a retard and dis people who are trying to help others or you could get off yer lazy good for nothing A$$ and try to help others as well.
- N3M3515, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3There are some very nice mathematics video lectures in there, they helped me through Discrete.
- andshewas, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3From my personal experience, you actually need to know what you are doing to succeed in your career. The degree doesn't do ***** for you once you get the job.
- specialK16, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4I really want to go to a US university. The whole american college experience is all about sex and alcohol, or so it looks in the movies.
- specialK16, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Your degree is good for your first jobs. After some years, the most important thing is experience and references, so do the best you can as soon as you get out of college!
- springo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I've read through all of it, where do I get my degree now?
- Shak, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Just posted a sec ago, but http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/VideoLectures/index.htm
- MarkOfTheDead, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2BLASPHEMY!
- Hoinah, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I seriously don't get why people need to read in the bathroom, if you focus on using it instead of reading crap, you wouldn't have to be in there a half-hour.
- SillyRabbits, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It's probably more accurate to say different knowledge has different values. Knowing how to twirl a pillow on your finger, not worth much. Knowing how to replace a liver, actually worth something. ........... Knowing how to solve an engineering problem, that's valuable. Knowing who will pay you the most to solve that engineering problem, sometimes even more valuable.
- nreynolds, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I'm applying to MIT next year, and I visited it last spring break(along with a bunch of other colleges). The campus is amazing, and the parties are crazy. It seems like the nerds get let loose and go nuts. Plus, their hacks are hilarious.
If you're going to say something as stupid as "you don't go to MIT for the education - you go to MIT for the degree," you might not to want be an idiot. Lectures are such a small part of the MIT education, labs are much more important. But anyways, the ring you get after your 2nd year is considered to be more important even than a degree to many graduates. You walk into any interview wearing your ring and you've got a huge advantage over any other applicant. - VitriolAndAngst, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4I'd have to agree.
Most of the upper management I work for is competent to "boneheaded." I don't think there is much relationship to college and success anymore. Who you know is more of a factor in the larger companies. While startups need brains, not resumes.
I have 8 years of college, made the Dean's list.
If I did it over today, I'd do it online or go for a business major and just party a lot more -- college is about networking.
If you study really hard to become an Engineer -- didn't you see your job go offshore? - lacronicus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2do you realize that to get any major promotion as a firefighter (anything past a regular firefighter) in my city you need a college degree? it can be in psychology for all they care, but you need a degree. its the degree they want, the knowledge is worthless.
- Roger, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Berkeley has full videos from several major courses covering 11 semesters. Some even have podcasts.
Most of the MIT classes don't even have videos. The only useful thing they have is course notes. And thats nothing special. - roberto_deneero, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Diplomas are only valuable if you choose to be a drone in other people's businesses forever. Many of the most wealthy men in the world never went to or finished college. More education does not correlate to more income. In fact, it just creates more debt for the student who could otherwise be putting that money to use in a business and making cash for 4 years instead of losing out on the opportunity.
Unless you're going to school for law, medicine, or PhD, college does not make financial sense anymore in America. Do 2 years as an electrical apprentice and you'll make WAY more than your high school buddies with Bachelors in Anything and you can operate your own business one day. - settipalli13, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Actually even UC-Berkeley has similar online class program..... accessible at
http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php - smackhero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1wth is "Advanced math"? i've only taken math up to discrete mathematics and multi-variable calculus. is that somewhere past linear algebra?
- sarahdug, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yeah... those stupid doctors and lawyers. They don't know anything.
- bigredgpk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1OCW is a great site, a company called Sapient built it for them.
- N3M3515, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Those movies portray business majors...
- th3wiz4rd, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3"let's you pretty get an MIT eduction online for free."
I guess grammar isn't a prerequisite for getting a free MIT education... - Tanath, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1He was asking for a grammar course... :P
- lavoie0ca, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1unemployment for engineering grads in my school is
- kestrel127, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I just had to read Rich Dad Poor Dad and bought some assets. Might work for others not interested in spending money on a degree to work in fear for managers that know less than you.
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