Blossom'sGirl Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I am deciding on an Economics class for next year. I know I want video based w/ min. teacher involvement. Thinkwell's sale ends today so I am trying to decide if it is worth the $ for Thinkwell if the free ones by Navarro (?) are fairly similar in content. DS prefers the Thinkwell class but my homeschool budget is stretched. Also, I have no experience with Cousera and would not be happy if they dropped the course next year. Has anyone compared these two classes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Coursera classes are not necessarily predictable. I don't know which class you have your eyes on, but 1. If it has never run before, it will probably start late. It is also like to have first-time-offered "bugs" that need to be worked out. 2. If it has run before, but is not on the schedule, you should not just assume it will run again at the same time next year. Or that it will ever run again. 3. Coursera classes vary greatly in rigor and scope. Some are easily a college credit, some are easily a high school credit, and some are continuing education or enrichment. If you want a for-sure creditworthy class, choose Thinkwell. Next best choice is a previously-offered, definitely-scheduled MOOC class. Previously offered so that you can find reviews and so that the initial kinks are worked out. Definitely-scheduled so it's more likely to be available when you need it. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom'sGirl Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Thanks JanetC for helping me think this through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad S Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I'd generally agree with JanetC, but we have taken first-time-offered Coursera courses which had limited bugs (and some which had bugs). FYI, I've been very impressed with the nature of the questions they ask on the quizzes for the few that we've taken -- it was necessary to understand the lecture to answer the questions, yet there weren't that many questions to exhaust the student. You could also try EdX or some of the others, but I don't have experience with how good their questions are to test comprehension. Good luck with your decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 My kids have done several Coursera courses including Navorro's Macroeconomics. His class was a university introduction to macroeconomics. His lectures follow his outline pretty exactly. Very easy to make notes. Both kids earned a certificate without difficulty. The only mild criticism for a totally free class is he lectures with a bit of a monotone but is perfect for note taking. They also took Microeconomics from another University on Coursera. It was good also. Both dh and I have degrees in Economics and followed what they dis with interest. Pretty much what I did freshman year updated to current theories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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