MIT

GEOINT MOOC: Week 3

I’ve really started enjoying this MOOC. As I mentioned last time, the text-based notes are very nice, and this week has shown they are getting even better. The definitions are clear and concise, and the concepts are explained very well.

The assignments haven’t really been assignments though. I like assignments where you answer a bunch of questions and get graded on the answers (MITx on edX is particularly good with that kind of structure). This is why I don’t really have much to say about this MOOC.

I liked the refresher on remote sensing that this week’s notes covered. At one point I was considering specialising in remote sensing, since I felt that GIS alone was not challenging me enough. It only took a few weeks into my first GIS job to realise that what I was taught at university about GIS was laughable.

MOOCs: The journey continues

I’ve signed up for a number of MOOCs over the last 2 years, some for interest sake and some with the intent of completing for a certificate. So far I have successfully completed five:

  1. MIT: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming (edX)
  2. MIT: Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science (edX verified)
  3. MIT: The Analytics Edge (edX)
  4. ESRI: Going Places with Spatial Analysis (Udemy)
  5. University of Minnesota: From GPS and Google Maps to Spatial Computing (Coursera)

I also signed up for (but did not complete):

  1. Stanford: Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1 (Coursera)
  2. Stanford: Introduction to Logic (Coursera)
  3. University of Maryland: Software Security (Coursera)
  4. Stanford: GPS: An Introduction to Satellite Navigation, with an interactive Worldwide Laboratory using Smartphones (Coursera)
  5. Delft University of Technology: Responsible Innovation (edX)
  6. Delft University of Technology: Solving Complex Problems (edX)

The only one I am bothered about not completing is Stanford’s GPS lab. I just forgot to go write the exam. I’ve been using MyStudyLife to keep track of all the due dates for the various courses (because I didn’t want a dozen different course calendars), but I stopped updating that and everything just snowballed and then it was time for Vacay 2014.

I’ll probably retake the GPS course, and will be looking for MOOCs focussing on web programming and networks this year. I may have some other news on the education front as well (hopefully), so this is all I want to take on for now.