Fortnightly Mailing

Dick Moore's guide to making short instructional videos

Dick Moore (sometime collaborator, friend, and Trustee of ALT) writes a practical and insight-rich "how to" about making short instructional videos on his Tools and Taxonomy blog. It is just this kind of useful material that gets lost (i.e. is not written) when people with knowhow to share take the easy way out and write performative snippets rather than thought-through pieces. (I am as guilty as the next person in this respect.) 

Whether next year's new year resolution will be easy to live up to is another question.

A saucer of beans

Runner beans straight from the pod earlier today.

Over 200,000 people have signed up for the three free Stanford University online courses

By 26 August, well over 200,000 people had signed up for one of the three free online courses being offered by the University of Stanford. The numbers are as follows:

• Introduction to Artificial Intelligence - 132,469
• Introduction to Databases - 37,419
• Introduction to Machine Learning - 37,636

I've posted some questions about the AI course (which would apply equally to the other two), and several readers (Stuart Sutherland, Bob Harrison, Pabritra, John Vornle, and Dick Moore) have responded with other questions and comments. Feel free to add your own.

 

Thrun/Norvig/Stanford introduction to artificial intelligence - just short of 90,000 enrolments in 2 weeks

(Other posts tagged ai-course.)

Note - 20/8/2011. In the small font below I am unsystematically tracking the growth in sign-ups for the three Stanford course.

Two weeks ago I wrote something about (and signed up for) the Stanford University online introduction to artificial intelligence, to be taught by Peter Norvig and Sebastian Thrun. (Stanford's Introduction to Databases [201108200619 - 23,671. 201108242232 - 35,321. 201108261846 - 37,419.] and Introduction to Machine Learning [201108200619 - 25,935. 201108242233 - 35,685. 201108261846 - 37,636.] are also available online this autumn.

Within 2 weeks - after extensive press coverage - just short of 90,000 people worldwide had enrolled on the course. [24 hours later the number enrolled topped 100,000. 201108190712 - 103,290. 201108200619 - 110,775. 201108242227 - 128,477. 201108261846 - 132,469.]

The future of VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments) in tertiary education - Guest Contribution by Jim Farmer

At Blackboard World on 13th July 2011, four publishers announced new products and new services:

• Pearson integrates MyLab and Master learning services with the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). This integration gives faculty immediate access to tools, assignments and learning analytics based on their Blackboard logon and returns grades to Blackboard.
• Cengage creates a deeper integration and full interoperability of Cengage Learning’s digital content through automatic sign-on and grade book integration. This added level of integration includes Web-services architecture (MindLinks). The partnership also includes integration of Cengage Learning’s MindTap program and MindTap applications.
• Macmillan provides integration of Macmillan’s digital learning offerings and Blackboard. It automates automated access via Blackboard and upload of grades and performance data into Blackboard’s gradebook.
• Wiley provides seamless access to Wiley’s learning content and tools. Wiley supports access via Blackboard credentials and automatically synchronize grades and other data with Blackboard.

Collectively these announcements suggest learning delivery services (LDS) as a more effective model for online learning than local delivery of static content , integration of the learning delivery and management systems and single sign on [SSO] for user convenience.

A free online version of Stanford University's introduction to artificial intelligence

(Other posts tagged ai-course.)

Between 26 September and 16 December, with 10 hours study needed per week, Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig will teach a wholly online version of the "standard" Stanford University "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence".

The course - CS221 syllabus - will be taught "concurrently around the web", with short videos, on-line marked quizzes, a mid- and end-term exams, and eight automatically graded homework assignments. Students taking the online version will therefore be graded according to the same grading criteria as students taking CS221 at Stanford.

I am tempted, partly because I am particularly interested in whether mathematics-based courses, where the medium is not the message, can be successfully delivered on line. But the question is: will what I can remember of A and S level mathematics from 1970, and from the first year of the physics part of a natural sciences degree in 1972 (I then switched to economics....) suffice for the stated prerequisite that "a solid understanding of probability and linear algebra will be required"?

I shall find out soon enough.