StephanieZ Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 So, I am exploring high school resources. . . and have downloaded my first college 'open course'. Political Science from Yale's Open Courses. http://oyc.yale.edu/political-science/introduction-to-political-philosophy/content/downloads I was able to get all of the readings in epub format, then used Calibre to convert them to mobi format, and they're now beautifully on the kids' kindle (and will be on my kindle as soon as I get it from upstairs). So, all the readings are 100% free and paperless. I am in the process of downloading all of the video lectures (and will do the audio only formats, too, if they prove to be w/o visual elements) from itunes university. Every resource appears to be in tidy order. . . I am going to take the course myself over the next little while before deciding if/when my dd is ready for it. It's sort of an experiment in the technology. From what I can see so far, it looks like a pretty spectacular technology. I wonder how much of the kids highschool (advanced/AP level) course work we can/should get from these amazing open courses that many elite colleges are putting out there. Wow. I think education is going to really change. Talk about a leveling of the playing field. With some of the best universities offering free courses online. . . I wonder to what extent we can take advantage of them, and how that will change college. It is really amazing. What do you all think? Have any of you taken any of these courses? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyFernDotOrg Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I have perused them but not taken one from start to finish yet. I agree that open source courses will completely change education. My main question is this, though, and perhaps I betray my old-school leanings: how will your kids "mark" their book if it is paperless? I teach my students to interact with their reading by writing in their books, and although online articles and novels are great, environmentally speaking, I find conversations much deeper (and easier) when everyone comes to the table with notes, questions and observations in the margins. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I have a deep profound hatred of writing in books. Any books. It's like marking up art. I. Just. Can't. Do. It. However, we do keep lots of notes here. A tree probably dies every day each of my kids has school work to do. I've never really comprehended the notion that one must write in their books to keep notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 You can take highlight things on a kindle and they are saved in their own section of highlights so you can review what you thought was most important. You can also take notes on a kindle, although it's easiest for them to be short. It's not easy to type on the tiny keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooblink Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Thanks for the resource link. My kids are a little young, but these appeal to me and, hopefully, the offerings will expand in time. :) As for note taking in books, I do write in my paperback books, not hardcover. Isn't that funny? At any rate, I have a Nook and it does allow you to hightlight, bookmark and type notes within the ebook. Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyFernDotOrg Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I have a deep profound hatred of writing in books. Any books. It's like marking up art. I. Just. Can't. Do. It. I've never really comprehended the notion that one must write in their books to keep notes. I used to be like that, then I got over it. Certain books, of course not, and generally not books I just read for pleasure, but absolutely all others are fair game. You can take highlight things on a kindle and they are saved in their own section of highlights so you can review what you thought was most important. Resists...pull...of...dark...side...loves...real...books.... (that feature sounds GREAT for students!!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memphispeg Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 We have used parts of the Harvard, MIT, and Yale and the Monterey open-courses. Mostly, lecture notes and assignments and tests. My dd has watched some of the videos. She has opted to use texts and had me write up assignments on "work sheets" so she could write them out. She likes to read books and take notes on "work sheet reading guides." She may be the last of her generation to be computer averse when it comes to academics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostonian Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Wow. I think education is going to really change. Talk about a leveling of the playing field. With some of the best universities offering free courses online. . . I wonder to what extent we can take advantage of them, and how that will change college. The universities that make available these course materials deserve a lot of credit. The cynic/realist(?) in me says they won't change college much, because college is largely about getting a credential, and employers don't care if you have done the work for a Yale political science course. They care if you have a Yale degree. I hope this changes eventually but don't expect it to happen soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyFernDotOrg Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I agree that it won't change college much, but it offers the opportunity to craft a well-designed study program using minds that specialize in the content you are studying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I have not used them yet formally as a part of any course, but DD14 has watched a lot of it on her own in her free time and brought my attention to some of them. I personally thought Harvard's Justice was done quite well and very high school friendly (level-wise I mean, plus with all readings, discussions questions on several level, discussions online and the lessons themselves). I think it is great universities make this possible: they "demystify" the level of learning there and get you an insight into what goes on and, even without formal recognition, you do get help with your studies if you are studying something related. I wish more universities did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Geez, now I have to compare MIT's Open Courseware Organic Chem. to Yale's. :D Thanks for the resource! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Yale has a fantastic Roman Architecture opencourse. We're working through that one. It is awesome! http://oyc.yale.edu/history-of-art/roman-architecture Open courseware is like Christmas for me. I love all the free classes we can take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shea Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks for the links and great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I wonder what this means for Teaching Company? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 So, I am exploring high school resources. . . and have downloaded my first college 'open course'. Political Science from Yale's Open Courses. http://oyc.yale.edu/political-science/introduction-to-political-philosophy/content/downloads I was able to get all of the readings in epub format, then used Calibre to convert them to mobi format, and they're now beautifully on the kids' kindle (and will be on my kindle as soon as I get it from upstairs). So, all the readings are 100% free and paperless. I am in the process of downloading all of the video lectures (and will do the audio only formats, too, if they prove to be w/o visual elements) from itunes university. Every resource appears to be in tidy order. . . I am going to take the course myself over the next little while before deciding if/when my dd is ready for it. It's sort of an experiment in the technology. From what I can see so far, it looks like a pretty spectacular technology. I wonder how much of the kids highschool (advanced/AP level) course work we can/should get from these amazing open courses that many elite colleges are putting out there. Wow. I think education is going to really change. Talk about a leveling of the playing field. With some of the best universities offering free courses online. . . I wonder to what extent we can take advantage of them, and how that will change college. It is really amazing. What do you all think? Have any of you taken any of these courses? What do you think? Haven't used any of them yet, but they look great. Thanks for the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clementine Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Ugh, the iPad really needs to be able to use flash!!! That would be so handy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I wonder what this means for Teaching Company?Laura ____ Nothing. They've both been around for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I have a deep profound hatred of writing in books. Any books. It's like marking up art. I. Just. Can't. Do. It. However, we do keep lots of notes here. A tree probably dies every day each of my kids has school work to do. I've never really comprehended the notion that one must write in their books to keep notes. Grin... and I can't imagine really reading a book without writing in it. I underline important passages, make comments, etc. If I don't mark, then I haven't really read.:) Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 AcademicEarth.org takes the free video lectures available on line and organizes them by school, subject and ratings. Saves a little search/browsing time! Universities: Berkeley Columbia Harvard Khan Academy Maryland Michigan MIT Norwich NYU Princeton Stanford UCLA UNSW USC Yale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 AcademicEarth.org takes the free video lectures available on line and organizes them by school, subject and ratings. Saves a little search/browsing time! Universities: Berkeley Columbia Harvard Khan Academy Maryland Michigan MIT Norwich NYU Princeton Stanford UCLA UNSW USC Yale THANK YOU!!! What an awesome site. I have spent hours on the individual sites reseraching courses. This is so much better!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I write in my paperback books too. I like taking notes in the margin, underlining, etc. I've gone back to my college textbooks and it is a trip down memory lane seeing what I wrote in the margins. I can not get the hang of highlighting on my Kindle. It is very cumbersome to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 THANK YOU!!! What an awesome site. I have spent hours on the individual sites reseraching courses. This is so much better!! :cheers2: I love it, and love that it's all free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks!! This is the best site I've seen this year. :D AcademicEarth.org takes the free video lectures available on line and organizes them by school, subject and ratings. Saves a little search/browsing time! Universities: Berkeley Columbia Harvard Khan Academy Maryland Michigan MIT Norwich NYU Princeton Stanford UCLA UNSW USC Yale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Wow, Jumping in Puddles! This is a very cool list! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Are you able to download the lectures on the Academic Earth site and keep them for later on as well? Multiple downloads doesn't work for me since I have download restrictions with satellite internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I've never really comprehended the notion that one must write in their books to keep notes. I first learned to do this in Philosophy in college where we were obliged to turn in the text for a grade on the notes we took in the margin. I've never thought twice about it since - except with your post.;) Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 AcademicEarth.org takes the free video lectures available on line and organizes them by school, subject and ratings. Saves a little search/browsing time! Universities: Berkeley Columbia Harvard Khan Academy Maryland Michigan MIT Norwich NYU Princeton Stanford UCLA UNSW USC Yale :thumbup: AWESOME!!! Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 THANK YOU!!! What an awesome site. I have spent hours on the individual sites reseraching courses. This is so much better!! Yes - thank you JIP!!!!!!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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