MOOCs I Recommend And How to Study with Them
created: ; modified:I’m pathologically unable to read textbooks (get bored too quickly) and my university doesn’t have too many good courses (I had 3 really great ones during my undergrad; 0 during my Master’s). So I ended up taking quite a bit of MOOCs over the years. Here are the ones I would definitely recommend:
Bio
- MITx Introduction to Biology
- MITx Molecular Biology. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.
- Harvardx Biochemistry
- MIT OCW Systems Biology
CS
Physics
- MITx Mechanics. Kinematics and Dynamics, Momentum and Energy, Rotational Dynamics, Simple Harmonic Motion
History
- University of Virginia The Modern World (1760-). Part 1. Part 2.
- Emory University The Bible’s Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future
- Cornellx American Capitalism: A History
Econ
- Marginal Revolution University Principles of Micro
- Marginal Revolution University Principles of Macro
- Columbia University Economics of Money and Banking
- University of Michigan Model Thinking
How to study with MOOCs?
MOOCs are not a panacea. When you take a university course, you have:
- 2-3 hours a week of lectures
- 1-2 hours a week of seminars
- 1-2 hours a week of office hours
- exercises
- homework
Note that MOOCs don’t provide seminars and office hours, which are frequently even more important than the lectures themselves! When I try to self-study anything I get stuck on material all the time and when I took Calculus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, etc. in the university I visited office hours almost religiously.
What is the alternative to office hours and seminars? It seems that the only viable alternatives are
- a private tutor
- a friendly professor at a local university
- a friend whom it would not be too awkward to pester with questions
None of these are perfect.
Tricks
- to be able to quickly adjust the video speed I strongly recommend Video Speed Controller