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MIT Open Courseware with 500 Courses
Comp Bio Guy writes "As promised, MIT has finally released 500 courses worth of lecture notes, syllabi, and exams to provide a 'free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners around the world.' Take a look (and maybe a test or two) at MIT's OCW site."
I started going through one of the course few months back. And one few ocassions I email the instructors, for clarifications/explanations. And I always got a prompt reply. Even though I am not paying anything to MIT.
Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
A lot of the course notes aren't particularly useful without a teacher actually explaining things to you. For example, look at the following link . While some of the notes may be useful and educational, I don't think it replaces a real, live professor explaning things and available to answer questions.
1. I don't think anybody was suggesting that this should replace real profs at MIT. This is extra resources for people outside of universities, who don't have the option of talking to a prof.
2 Personally, I actually disagree with your point. I have found that I learn the most reading and solving problems, not when I listen to somebody talking (especially not in the big lecture format).
Tor
I've always wondered why teachers don't "open source" some text books. When I was in school, it seemed that they changed the text every semester so that kids couldn't buy used books, or resell them after use. It almost seemed as if they were colluding with the publishers. I almost organized a book burning with the angry students who were finding that their $150 Accounting 101 book became worthless after the sememster was over. There are few scholarships/grants that will cover the cost of a text.
Don't get me wrong - I kept all the good stuff (and still reference it today when google doesn't come through - there are few such cases but I have whacked a few).
In any event, it would be simple - a book is created and is available for modification so as long as the modifications are submitted back to the original author. The text would evolve into something that could not be purchased from *any* publisher.
Students Win. Society Wins. Evil Publishers Lose.
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
Yup, that and parents who valued learning. If more parents valued learning over entertainment and availed themselves of the Public Library vs paying $50 monthly for Cable, $300ea for a tv in each room and $60ea for a VCr to go with, they could afford to bootstrap themselves from poverty to educated.
And no I'm not particularly motorvated, so I haven't gone as far as I could.
BUT I've reached the goals I set for myself my senior year of HS and surpassed them. I'm a software engineer for the largest Employer in the US, I own a fully paid for new car, Cell phone, pager and home network. I didn't however realize that I was "born poor" till after I moved out, and the first year on my own, made more than my parents combined income.
Frugal living, careful planning and inventive meal management. I never went hungry. And yes, living at the "poverty line".
Food not Bombs is a nice platitude but it breaks down when you notice that the Bombees are usually well fed