Category Archives: Uncategorized

With a background in quantitative research and a bent towards applied statistical work, I felt compelled to take Lisa Dierker’s Passion Driven Statistics.  This course is offered on Wesleyan’s campus and has been modified for an online environment.  Everything kicked … Continue reading →

One of our discussion group participants recommended that we read this report: William G. Bowen et al., Interactive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence from Randomized Trials (Ithaka S+R, May 22, 2012), http://www.sr.ithaka.org/research-publications/interactive-learning-online-public-universities-evidence-randomized-trials. Another participant asked for more background on the … Continue reading →

I originally signed up for a Global Health course whose date was pushed to May. As a substitute, I moved on to a basic stats course, something I regularly teach, to see how it was done.  That turned out to … Continue reading →

I confess: I am a MOOC lurker. I signed up for English Composition 1: Achieving Expertise, by Duke University on Coursera, because the course I originally signed up for was a computer course and required a PC (which I don’t have at … Continue reading →

I was already enrolled in an online course when this discussion group was announced but it wasn’t a MOOC. At that time I thought I would find a MOOC to enroll in to use as a basis to participate in … Continue reading →

Well, I got my certificate for completing my Astrobiology course. If the link doesn’t work, a b/w version follows here. (I can’t get the actual picture of the certificate to show up on the post but it does seem to … Continue reading →

I recently “completed” my online course, “Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible),” offered by Yale as part of a general initiative called “Open Yale Courses.”  These courses were not created specifically as online courses.  Rather, they appear to be … Continue reading →

As promised, quick reflections on the lectures in my Astrobiology course (introduced in my first post, “Where no man has gone before”). The lecturer, a University of Edinburgh professor of Astrobiology (obviously) was casually dressed although after four weeks I … Continue reading →

Always ahead of the curve, I began AND FINISHED my course before most of you have even gotten a chance to start. Figures the most clueless among us leads the way. Hope my sense of direction in the ether is … Continue reading →

We asked applicants, “Why did you select this digital course, and what do you want to learn from this discussion group?” Here’s some excerpts compiled by Jim Trostle, which give you some sense of the group as a whole, before … Continue reading →