MASS

It has been almost 2 years since I've posted to this blog. Most of my time has been spent on the MASS web site notes and MOOC's (Massive Open Online Courses). I'd thought I'd distill some of my experiences with the 18 courses I've taken between mid September 2014 and the end of December 2015. The MOOC's are a fabulous resource for learning about various subjects.

I give a tremendous thanks to Dean who identified this resource to me. We were both going to take the second course, "Emergence of Life" together but his schedule didn't let him start the class.

There is quite a range of difficulty to the courses. Some courses are very heavy on homework and very stingey on calculations to get the correct answer. That is where the inter-personal section of "forums" can be quite handy. Some of the courses follow a strict weekly format of releasing the weeks video lectures and a test on the week's material. There can be a fairly severe penalty if you don't complete the homework and tests by the deadline. Other classes also have essays of up to about 700 words. As a youth, I hated essays. But it seems that since I enjoy the material, the essays aren't the pain that they used to be.

In my first entry I thought I'd list the 18 courses, the name of the instructor and his/her affiliation, the subject, when I took the course, its length, the estimated effort, and the course platform. Later posts will rate the courses and their difficulty by subject.

Here is my list so far.

1. Imagining Other Earths; Dave Spergel; Princeton; Astronomy; Sep 17, 2014-Dec 31, 2014; 16 weeks; 5-7 hours/week; coursera.
2. Emergence of Life; Bruce Fouke; University of Illinois; Biology; Oct 20, 2014-Dec 14, 2014; 8 weeks; 4-6 hours/week; coursera.
3. Introduction to Astronomy; Ronen Plesser; Duke University; Astronomy; Dec 1, 2014-Mar 16, 2015; 15 weeks; 6-12 hours/week; coursera.
4. Astrobiology & the Search for Extraterrestial Life; Charles Cockrell; University of Edinburgh; Astrobiology; Dec 10, 2014-own pace; 9 hour total effort; coursera.
5. Galaxies & Cosmology; S. George Djorgovski; CalTech; Cosmology; Jan 6, 2015-Mar 15, 2015; 10 weeks; coursera.
6. Super Earths & Life; Dimitar Sasselov; Harvard; Astrobiology; Feb 10, 2015-Mar 22, 2015; EDX.
7. The Science of the Solar System; Mike Brown; CalTech; Astronomy; Mar 30, 2015-Jun 9, 2015; 9 weeks; 2+ hours/week; coursera.
8. Origins - Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth & Life; team taught; University of Copenhagen; Astronomy & Astrobiology; Apr 28, 2015-Jul 20, 2015; 12 weeks; coursera.
9. Astrotech: Science & Technology Behind Astronomical Discovery; Andy Lawrence & Catherine Heymans; University of Edinburgh; Astronomy; May 18, 2015-Jun 28, 2015; 6 weeks; coursera.
10. Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe; Brian Schmidt & Paul Francis; Australian National University; Jun 23, 2015-Aug 25, 2015; Astronomy; 9 weeks; 3 hours/week; EDX.
11. Calculus 1; Jim Fowler; Ohio State; Aug 9, 2015-still have 3 weeks to go, own pace; Mathematics; 16 weeks; coursera.
12. Planet Earth & You; Stephen Marshak & Eileen Herrstrom; University of Illinois; Geology; Sep 14, 2015- Oct 20, 2015; 5 weeks; coursera.
13. Analyzing the Universe; Terry Matilsky; Rutgers; Sep 14, 2015-Nov 19, 2015; Astronomy; 6 weeks; coursera.
14. Astrophysics: Exploring Exoplanets; Brian Schmidt & Paul Francis; Australian National University; Sep 15, 2015-Nov 17, 2015; Astronomy; 9 weeks; 3 hours/week; EDX.
15. The Evolving Universe; S. George Djorgovski; CalTech; Sep 20, 2015-Dec 25, 2015, own pace; Cosmology; 5 chapters; coursera.
16. From the Big Bang to Dark Energy; Hitoshi Murayama; University of Tokyo; Cosmology & Physics; Nov 2, 2015-Dec 25, 2015, own pace; 5 weeks; coursera.
17. Astronomy: Exploring Time & Space; Chris Impey; University of Arizona; Oct 15, 2015-Dec 23, 2015, own pace; Astronomy; 11 weeks; coursera.
18. History of Rockets: Part 1 - from Goddard to Apollo; Burton Dicht; IEEE; Rocketry & History; Nov 24, 2015-Dec 23, 2015; 4 modules; coursera.