What is Digg?54 Comments
- Popeiler, on 03/30/2008, -4/+36There's no point in suffering for four years unless you have a piece of paper that tells prospective employers that you've suffered for four years.
- speel, on 03/30/2008, -1/+21I'm learning the site can't handle traffic.
- Dukaso, on 03/31/2008, -0/+12Good. Knowledge should be free.
I don't see this passing as college or something but it is a great resource for those who value knowledge. - Zuzubar, on 03/30/2008, -1/+12Wow, 26 secs on the homepage and the site is down :(
- MrARPA, on 03/31/2008, -0/+8Some of the comments here show a complete ignorance of what the Open University is. It's a well respected educational institution in the UK - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_university
- JohnFlux, on 03/30/2008, -5/+12I got my (second) physics degree through the Open University. I enjoyed it a lot more than a more brick university. The books are very high quality indeed and well written.
- aldaden, on 03/31/2008, -0/+7I'm so sad to see so many people say this is a scam without actually taking a good look.
Open University is a national institution in the UK. They used to transmit their programs every night on the BBC after closedown. When I was a kid I fell asleep most nights watching OU courses.
You'll see lots of their intros on Youtube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmmkJmYrENM&feature ... - rhodesy22, on 03/31/2008, -0/+6I'm not sure that its been made clear to everyone that the Open University is actually a place of Higher Education that offer real degrees (at a cost) however they are simply offering their accompanying course materials to anyone who wishes to browse them. I personally think this is great as I'm studying a degree at the moment and the information will not only aid that degree but also allow indulgences into other academic areas - like French for example.
- inactive, on 03/30/2008, -0/+6FINALLY! I can get an education without incurring any debt!!
- bitspace, on 03/31/2008, -0/+5The site appears to be unresponsive at the moment, but based upon the blurb, this sounds like another take on Open CourseWare. I use MIT's offering frequently, but OpenCourseWare is a consortium of accredited schools providing access to their curricula online for free. http://ocw.mit.edu/ or http://www.ocwconsortium.org/ . MIT have been doing this for some 10 years now.
- ciano, on 03/30/2008, -2/+5Does nobody get that this comment was a joke?
- klick37, on 03/30/2008, -7/+10This is one of those ***** services you hear infomercials for on the radio.
- aldaden, on 03/31/2008, -1/+4Erm - Yes you do.
And a very well respected one.
And they rank very highly for satisfaction -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4265894.stm - JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+3I'm afraid you're misinformed. The Open University is not a meaningless online certificates-for-money scheme, but a genuine, respectable University. Courses and qualifications here have to be studied just as much as those in a conventional University with students on campus, and are every bit as respectable as degrees from conventional universities. In fact, OU courses are sometimes regarded as better than those from conventional Universities, since OU students usually have experience of the real world outside of academia as well as the qualifications.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - inactive, on 03/31/2008, -0/+3I can now partake in the crucible of knowledge without having to put on my pants and briefs.
- PeckerDunne, on 03/31/2008, -0/+2Fantastic resource. I did a computer science degree in the early 90s. Changed my career and life (for the better).
- givlpgg, on 03/31/2008, -0/+2I can spot a moron when I see one... you sound SO intelligent
- hurt911gen, on 03/31/2008, -1/+3LOL, you guys that buried him/her, get a sense of humor.
- Midtowner, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1I did notice that you had a "law" section. The thing is that no online university will ever give the same sort of education you can get in a brick and mortar law school. Unlike some professions, e.g., programming, a lawyer has to be able to think on his feet and do good work, in an instant, under great pressure. The law school education is Socratic and often high-pressure as your classroom performance can have a substantial impact on your grades, which in turn, have a substantial impact on your career. The traditional law school experience is a pressure-cooker designed to teach you how to think a certain way.
No message board forum, no matter how erudite the discussion or how credentialed the faculty can ever replicate the sort of experience you get in law school. I'm quite certain that the same can be said for other professions as well.
Also, all of my professors earn salaries well into the six-figure range. That's what it costs to assemble a decent law faculty. What do you pay your faculty members?
It costs a lot of money to provide an education. That's why education costs a lot of money. - JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1We're doing even better now... we're the top rated by students, and have been consistently for some time.
2005 figures: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4265894.stm
2007 figures: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6988910.stm (differently expressed, but still clear)
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1The materials are usable and potentially useful for anyone, but if you find you want the qualification associated with them, you can join a formal programme of study for that very purpose, using the same materials. The study programmes are not free, but they do include rather more support resources than the free set.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1I don't work in the OU Business School, which runs the Law and Business courses, and the OU is rather big: around 150,000 undergraduates, ~30,000 postgraduates, 7000+ associate lectures (face-to-face teaching staff), over 3000 staff developing courses and materials, and thousands of support staff. If you want a definitive response to your comments, you'll probably get a far better one from someone in that area. Their website (which you've probably already seen, but others might not have) is at http://www.open.ac.uk/oubs/ .
However, if it helps establish the OU's credibility, it may be of interest to know that an OUBS graduate won the MBA Student of the Year award in November 2007, although admittedly, that's business, rather than law. Many OU courses, including law courses, have regional face to face tutorials help periodically, which students are strongly encouraged to attend. They are required to develop the kind of skills which you quite correctly point out would be difficult to develop over distances with just solitary study. The online experiences (forums, live video/audio conversations, debates, email contacts, group assignments and so on) are only a part of the whole picture.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - SuperMoses, on 03/31/2008, -1/+2You're a movie, cuz that's what I think of you.
(it's from a spam) - JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1Oops - that was supposed to say "held periodically" rather than "help periodically". Digg's comment editing system malfunctioned while I was fixing it.
- aldaden, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1It's really sad that many people saying bad things about a national institution in the UK like the OU even after people in the UK above have linked to sources to prove how highly regarded it is (Ask any member from the UK and they'll tell you about the OU)
Wikipedia is already linked to above.
Also there's their partnership with the BBC:
http://www.open2.net/
And they were ranked 9th University in the UK by the Telegraph at one time (Don't know what they are now):http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2002/07/2 ... - hurt911gen, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1LIES.
- marklittle, on 03/30/2008, -1/+2http://www.selfmadescholar.com is similar to this
- JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1Some of the older programmes had a reputation for being cardigan-wearing academics out of touch with the real world. While this reputation is partly deserved, it cannot be argued that the academic and educational content of the programmes has always been top notch.
These days, the OU doesn't make programmes on its own, but collaborates with other producers to assure quality, and in turn gets targeted material suitable for inclusion in courses. The programmes are vastly better.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - hollowex, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1Organization for a free pre-college level education.
http://onetreefoundation.org - krakkinem, on 03/31/2008, -1/+2wow, I wonder if they email you a .pdf diploma!
- JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1The course materials are free. If you want to study a course, with tutor support and certification, that costs money. Not as much as you might expect, though, especially if you're comparing to the cost of full-time University education, and the associated difficulty of earning while studying full time.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1No, it really isn't. The Open University is a genuine full University. Degrees and PhDs studied here as as valid as any other brick-and-mortar University - and are well respected in industry since it's well known that home study can prove quite challenging.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - viggooo, on 03/31/2008, -1/+2So.. you mean there are NO other positives with education?
- JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1It's up, but admittedly struggling under the load. Worth coming back to later if you're interested, though. :-)
- JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1I'm always glad to hear people say that. Although I don't write course materials (I'm in technical support), I do still work at the Open University, and it's always welcome to hear that we are helping to do good.
- JeFurry, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1There are similarities. The Open University, however, has been running since the late 1960s. It's only the OpenLearn initiative that's new - previously, materials had to be paid for.
Disclaimer: I work at the Open University, and I support their view that education should be open to all. I am therefore biased. - inactive, on 03/30/2008, -3/+3I see what you did there. (appropriate use may vary according to your opinion)
I dug you up because you used buzz words / phrases such as "smoke pot all day", "hot sex", "nubile young college girls", "facts". Even though your post has more inner conflicts than Hillary Clinton going on a drinking binge and facing the facts her husband got laid in the Oval Office while she was out dodging 'sniper fire'. - Exploit, on 03/31/2008, -1/+111 places to get University courses for free
http://digg.com/educational/11_places_to_get_Unive ... - threemagic, on 03/30/2008, -2/+1You're spam, cuz that's what I think of you.
(it's from a movie) - Midtowner, on 03/31/2008, -2/+1My bad. Carry on with your spam.
Sorry for the interruption. Get back to thinking that online degrees and online studies are acceptable in the workplace. - TheSpook, on 03/30/2008, -2/+1Ughh. I have nightmares of administering Lotus LearningSpace. :(
- philrenaud, on 03/30/2008, -3/+2I love kerning sometimes. Made me wonder what the hell Leaming space might have been.
- inactive, on 03/30/2008, -4/+1http://www.foreignlegionlife.com/
???? - karolisonline, on 03/31/2008, -4/+1this is spam , 10000 punds aren't free!!
- nbx909, on 03/30/2008, -5/+1Not really higher education, since you don't/can't recieve a degree or credit for the calsses.
- Midtowner, on 03/31/2008, -5/+1Wow.. maybe I can drop out of law school and go there! Surely the Bar Association will let me sit for the exam.
And I'm sure my clients will be thrilled when I tell them I have an online law degree. - badwithcomputer, on 03/30/2008, -9/+4can i still wear sandals and bring a frisbee?
- skully1337, on 03/30/2008, -5/+0why dont you go ***** yourself rotzooi
- Rotzooi, on 03/30/2008, -20/+12Buried as inaccurate for not including Creationist views. Higher education clearly is for liberals who have nothing better to do than learn unchristian 'facts' and smoke pot all day. And in the case of non-Digg users, have hot sex with nubile young college girls, disgusting.
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