My first week as a Coursera student
It is very instructional, and in my opinion even essential to change roles now and then and to walk a mile or two in my customers´ boots. Therefore, I am currently studying historical fiction and songwriting at Coursera. It would be boring for me to attend a course about software engineering, in fact, because there is not much new to learn for me on college level.
But I am highly motivated and already had a lot of fun reading articles about historical novels. In the songwriting course, the professor (Pat Pattison) is telling us stories in order to teach us simple truths about song lyrics. However, the challenge is not to understand these principles, but to apply them artistically. I feel so great, when I manage to answer to the quiz about the learning stuff successfully. I get direct feedback that I understood everything right. Later course units will then demand me to apply what I learned by writing a song. And singing. :-)
Let´s see how far I get. My objective is to end with a great song. I have been keeping my eyes open for a topic. And immediately found one: A pigeon on the rail tracks, pecking a bread roll. When the train was approaching, the pigeon was torn between continuing its breakfast as long as possible, and fleeing from the deadly threat. It carefully observed the train and managed to find the right moment to leave. However: What if not? What if the pigeon every day leaves a second later? Aren´t we in life sometimes also hesitating to leave a good piece of bread even when we know it is dangerous?
In fact, I do not have any time for taking courses. So, I wondered whether I would survive the first week. And I have missed the short deadline of one of the homework. Fortunately, I was not thrown out of the course, only got a penalty on my grading. In constrast to real students, I do not need a good grading. I study just for fun. So, this is OK. Apart from this, I find amazingly many occasions to listen to the 12-minutes video lectures during breakfast or boring work, and it is a nice leasure-time activity to answer quizzes about historical fiction and songwriting. A minute ago, I listened to a lecture while printing out course material for my own lecture. So, maybe I will finish the courses successfully despite all the hectic at work.
But I am highly motivated and already had a lot of fun reading articles about historical novels. In the songwriting course, the professor (Pat Pattison) is telling us stories in order to teach us simple truths about song lyrics. However, the challenge is not to understand these principles, but to apply them artistically. I feel so great, when I manage to answer to the quiz about the learning stuff successfully. I get direct feedback that I understood everything right. Later course units will then demand me to apply what I learned by writing a song. And singing. :-)
Let´s see how far I get. My objective is to end with a great song. I have been keeping my eyes open for a topic. And immediately found one: A pigeon on the rail tracks, pecking a bread roll. When the train was approaching, the pigeon was torn between continuing its breakfast as long as possible, and fleeing from the deadly threat. It carefully observed the train and managed to find the right moment to leave. However: What if not? What if the pigeon every day leaves a second later? Aren´t we in life sometimes also hesitating to leave a good piece of bread even when we know it is dangerous?
In fact, I do not have any time for taking courses. So, I wondered whether I would survive the first week. And I have missed the short deadline of one of the homework. Fortunately, I was not thrown out of the course, only got a penalty on my grading. In constrast to real students, I do not need a good grading. I study just for fun. So, this is OK. Apart from this, I find amazingly many occasions to listen to the 12-minutes video lectures during breakfast or boring work, and it is a nice leasure-time activity to answer quizzes about historical fiction and songwriting. A minute ago, I listened to a lecture while printing out course material for my own lecture. So, maybe I will finish the courses successfully despite all the hectic at work.
AndreaHerrmann - 28. Okt, 11:32
I did algorithms 1 and I would do 2, if I had finished the first one. Since I am an old fossil that used to have to write his own sort mechanisms there was not too much new, but there was something new as well. And I admire the teacher who really did a lot of motivational work. Python would have just been fun as I did really major Python projects and like to program in that language. Still the same problem - not enough time.
So now I do not register but I plan to do so in 3 years from now when I am hopefully in retirement. It is really fun to study that way. Especially, if there no pressure on you except for the one you impose yourself on you:)
in fact the time was a problem! I finished both courses, but almost never managed to finish my exercises in time. They publish on Tuesday and give me one week time. As I am travelling a lot, "a week" often is equivalent to "one day in home office". That was a pity. My own courses will definitively allow the participants more flexibility.
Andrea