Introduction to the Internet of Things and Embedded Systems - UC Course

[ez24]

Starts Dec 6, 2016

Introduction to the Internet of Things and Embedded Systems  by Univ of Calif - Irvine  starts  Dec 6

Seems like a good intro - free to audit

Click on View Full Syllabus

https://www.coursera.org/learn/iot?recoOrder=14&utm_medium=email&utm_source=recommendations&utm_campaign=recommendationsEmail%7Erecs_email_2016_11_27_17%3A58#syllabus

cheers

Edit:  The videos are online now, and they are not YT videos.  Seem to be hosted by Cloudnet

[mtdoc]

I auditted a previous Coursera course by professor Harris. His lectures are clear but he does teach at a very "beginner" level. This can be either a good or bad thing depending on your background and expectations.

[ez24]

I auditted a previous Coursera course by professor Harris. His lectures are clear but he does teach at a very "beginner" level. This can be either a good or bad thing depending on your background and expectations.

This will be good for me because I have zero background and low expectations.   

[westfw]

The UCI classes require upgrading to payed version (rather than audit) to do things like submit answers to the (automated) quizzes.   I was not happy :-(  (I consider taking the quizzes to be an important part of online classes.  Otherwise you're just watching a bunch of videos, and might as well read a book.)
(This is NOT true of all Coursera classes, BTW.  I WAS happy with the UMichigan Python classes...)

[mtdoc]

The UCI classes require upgrading to payed version (rather than audit) to do things like submit answers to the (automated) quizzes. 

Hmm. that wasn't true for the 2 courses I've taken there. I wonder if that is only true for some  courses or has changed?  I agree with you that completing assignments and quizzes is necessary.

[RoGeorge]

I just watched all the Module 1 videos, and I want my time back. It was too basic, like for a 6 years old kid, or something.
They will throw at you a survey and an advertising flyer during the first lesson.
To watch the lessons (videos) is free, but to do the quiz at the end of the module, you need to pay.

[mtdoc]

I just watched all the Module 1 videos, and I want my time back. It was too basic, like for a 6 years old kid, or something.
They will throw at you a survey and an advertising flyer during the first lesson.
To watch the lessons (videos) is free, but to do the quiz at the end of the module, you need to pay.

Ha, yeah I agree. I watched two of the lectures while I was cleaning the kitchen last night.  Even more basic than the prior course lectures by him I've watched.
I think his courses are really more geared towards educating non-technology majors.  Should be titled  "IoT for Dummies".

[JacquesBBB]

The UCI classes require upgrading to payed version (rather than audit) to do things like submit answers to the (automated) quizzes. 

Hmm. that wasn't true for the 2 courses I've taken there. I wonder if that is only true for some  courses or has changed?  I agree with you that completing assignments and quizzes is necessary.

The policy of coursera has changed. Now  you need to pay for most of the courses.

EDX  seems to keep  a free policy (at least until now).

[RoGeorge]

One more trick for Coursera: If you already had a trial account in the past (I have had a free 6 month trial from Microsoft Visual Studio) then the audit option is not available at all, only the paid option is available.

You need to create a new Coursera account if you want to have the audit option.

[mtdoc]

I've had a Coursera account for a couple of years now. I just checked and am still able to sign up to audit a course. 

I also checked and I can still take quizzes. I had started the intro to programming Python course a couple of months ago and never finished it. I renewed it and it is allowing me to continue to take quizzes.

I'm not sure why others aren't able to do this.

[ez24]

I just watched all the Module 1 videos, and I want my time back. It was too basic, like for a 6 years old kid, or something.
They will throw at you a survey and an advertising flyer during the first lesson.
To watch the lessons (videos) is free, but to do the quiz at the end of the module, you need to pay.

Ha, yeah I agree. I watched two of the lectures while I was cleaning the kitchen last night.  Even more basic than the prior course lectures by him I've watched.
I think his courses are really more geared towards educating non-technology majors.  Should be titled  "IoT for Dummies".

I cannot figure out who the audience is targeted for.  But at my age I am glad I could understand what he said in the first two modules.  Starting with Module 3 I am starting to learn new things, mainly because I do not know Python.

Module three is starting to get into details that I think would be hard non tech people, see attachment.  But if this is for a uni course then maybe.   He said later they will be using Arduino and Pi.   So my suggestion is start with Module 3.  The screen shot is from Module 3, Lesson 2, Lecture 2.3  (what a numbering system) to show it is starting to get interesting.

I think this is a quality course (after watching YT) so I do not begrudge them for wanting to monetize it.  Good stuff costs money and at least they allow us to watch the videos for free.  And please do not forget the title of this topic "Introduction".

It would be interesting to hear from anyone that has made it to Module 3.  Thanks to those that have commented on this.

[hans]

I expect some if not most of these EDx courses to be freshman level courses at university, teaching a broad basis for students so everyone gets at the same level for continued courses. Some students chose for Embedded Systems with a computer science background, some with an EE background. Perhaps some students choose a major with no relevant background experience whatsoever.

Being university however I don't expect that colleges are comprehensive at all. Looking at my own courses I got 4-6 hours college and like 40 hours of self study a week. More often than not half of the stuff is skipped in the colleges. You need to figure that out with self study. Because it is asked on the test.

Maybe it's better for online courses where a single set of video materials and articles can be reused for years to come, instead of teaching the same material 5 times over. Despite that the other course you posted seemed a bit chaotic/pragmatic at times, but I guess that is what you get for teaching 'how to write code' on a whiteboard.

Nevertheless I think it's great they offer this for free. Knowledge is basically free, but the way it's packed and teached is not. Not everyone (especially in US) is fortunate enough to have the deep pockets for even a year at university. This at least gives chances to people to potentially become self employed or work their way up through a company this way.. or just for the hobbyist in his shed wanting to tinker.
Ironically I supplemented a lot of my self study calculus and algebra with Khan Academy. Quite a comprehensive collection of free online yet good video's on university maths. Professors even encourage this to "research material online", because if you look for it there is a lot out there.

[westfw]

I'm not sure why others aren't able to [take quizzes/etc].

Presumably it's up to the schools and professors actually giving the course.  The UMich Python classes are clearly done by an Open Source/Creative Commons Evangelist (textbook, course materials, and videos are all explicitly labeled as OS/CC...  Pretty cool, actually!)

(The change is that charging now seems to be the coursera-default policy.)

I expect some if not most of these [MOOC] courses to be freshman level courses at university

Most of the classes seem significantly shorter than an actual university class, perhaps with a full Coursera "specialization" being slightly more than a full semester's worth.  I completed two of the UMich Python classes in about a month, though they were nominally 6 and 7 week classes.  (A quarter-based university is about 10 weeks per class, and a semester-based university is longer.  Usually about 3 hours/week of class.)  The EdX/MIT Python class also nominally 7weeks, but was more rigorous (more lecture hours, more assignments, more "this will be something that you can't just race through.)  (The UMich classes were more like those week-long training classes aimed at working professionals.)

I find the whole spectrum of MOOC styles and etc to be fascinating to watch, in general.  I've taken (loosely speaking - ie "watched at least some of the videos of", although I've actually completed and passed several) more than a dozen online classes, and even the one that I'd rate as "poor" was useful.  (and some were REALLY GOOD.)

BTW: I just paid for my daughter to take one online class during the "winter session" (about 1month) at the school she is attending (SUNYSB, out-of-state), and that was about $3k.  So even at the ~$400 for a Coursera multi-class "specialization", it's a pretty good bargain!  (OTOH, the daughter's class will earn credits toward her degree...)

online courses where a single set of video materials and articles can be reused for years to come

So far, classes are doing a pretty impressive job of revising themselves to incorporate new technology, redo questionable bits of lecture, and etc.  You can see how much work goes intro producing some of the classes (especially compared to some of the early attempts where they'd just publish videos taken in a classroom.)

I supplemented a lot of my self study calculus and algebra with Khan Academy.

Indeed.  I think it's potentially game-changing for students at a university to be able to go out and look at some other teachers' lectures and material to get clarification and supplemental knowledge.   I've taken python classes from three different universities now, and it's an interesting mix (I'm sort-of looking for a programming class that i can recommend to my not-really-interested-in-programming children.  Because everyone should know a little about how computers are programmed.  But not all classes (and especially university "intro" classes) are aimed at anything other than being able to move on to the next class... (I'm still looking.))

[ez24]

I expect some if not most of these EDx courses to be freshman level courses at university,

This is not a EDx course.  Seems that there are two, Coursera (this one) and EDx.  There is an Austin, Tx EDx course that is much more advanced and is not a freshman class.  I think we have full free access to an EDx course when it is going on (which is rare).

This course is a puzzle, it is 4 "weeks" and the last lesson is on networks.  This must be a prep class for something on the Arduino and Pi because the prof said he was going to use them later on in the course.  Maybe they are waiting to see what the demand is before continuing.  This course is definitely not meant for EEs.

[hans]

Oops mixed up the university/course program names. My bad.

Indeed.  I think it's potentially game-changing for students at a university to be able to go out and look at some other teachers' lectures and material to get clarification and supplemental knowledge.   I've taken python classes from three different universities now, and it's an interesting mix (I'm sort-of looking for a programming class that i can recommend to my not-really-interested-in-programming children.  Because everyone should know a little about how computers are programmed.  But not all classes (and especially university "intro" classes) are aimed at anything other than being able to move on to the next class... (I'm still looking.))

Yes it really is. I am in university right now for a master's degree, and the major advantages for me is being able to look up a  subject before a college, and then review it afterwards. The teachers even encourage the use of this e-learning material, sometimes they admit their explanation is too theoretical to begin with, for example starting a chapter almost straight with a theorem block.

The most obvious advantages:
- Start at the level I want/need
- Stop at the level I need
- Skip stuff I already know
- Repeat stuff I don't know too well
- Speed up stuff at up to 2x if the lecturer talks too slowly or is too mechanical in explaining things (especially a problem in some of these math courses)

Unfortunately these elementary university courses often change subjects every week because they are absolutely packed with subjects that need to be explored. That's why I said some courses I've had so far only explain like 20% of what is actually asked on the test.