Mechanical MOOC Offers Introductory Python
Written by Sue Gee   
Wednesday, 22 August 2012

There's yet another approach to providing free online learning. In this model there's no course instructor but you still get to study with other people, if you choose to do so. There are no certificates but you can earn badges.

The idea behind Mechanical MOOC is that given a "light amount of co-ordination" it is possible to harness existing online tools rather than develop new delivery platforms. The approach is to "unbundle" content, community and assessment, each of which is handled by a separate entity.

 

mech400

 

Mechanical MOOC's inaugural course, starting October 15 and lasting 8 weeks, is A Gentle Introduction to Python and it combines four well respected partners:

  • Content - MIT OpenCourseWare
  • Exercises and Assessment - Code Academy
  • Community - OpenStudy
  • Co-ordination - Peer 2 Peer University

Co-ordination is perhaps the key to the success of this operation and this relies on an e-mail scheduler and a mailing list - and this is the part that is "mechanical".

If you sign up to the introductory Python course on the Mechanical MOOC site you are rewarded by a three-minute video of pop music and then a confirmation email from "The Machine" that simply says Hello - which seems appropriate for the initial step on the road to learning a Python but runs a high risk of going into an automatic spam bin.

So will this class gain MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) status of thousands of participants and what will the learning experience be like? There are no certificates on completion, but you can earn badges for exercises and assessments. Will this be enough to motivate students to complete the course?

Time will tell.

 

 mech1

 

More Information

Mechanical MOOC

Related Articles

MOOCs Fail Students With Dark Age Methods

Peter Norvig On The 100,000-Student Classroom

MITx - the Fallout Rate

MITx Experimental Course Completed - A Report

Udacity Announces Certification Option

Stanford AI Class - Mid Term Report

Mozilla Open Badges API in Beta

 

espbook

 

Comments




or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info

 

To be informed about new articles on I Programmer, install the I Programmer Toolbar, subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linkedin,  or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Banner


AI Propels Python To Top Language on GitHub
30/10/2024

This year's Octoverse Report reveals how AI is expanding on GitHub and that Python has now overtaken JavaScript as the most popular language on GitHub. The use of Jupyter Notebooks has also surged.



Rust 1.82 Improves Apple Support
24/10/2024

Following Rust's six-week release cycle, version 1.82 has been released with higher level support for Apple, and a new Info subcommand for Cargo.


More News

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 22 August 2012 )