alex springer mistix ambassador. the international mitx student suggestions for improvements future...
TRANSCRIPT
Alex Springer
MISTIx Ambassador
MITx Feedback
• The international MITx student
• Suggestions for improvements
• Future course suggestions
• How to capitalize on MISTIx Ambassadors
Overview
• 23 registered, 9 came• All men, 20-35 years old
• Most have C.S. background, one from life sciences
MITx Meet-Up Group
• Review/relearn material from undergrad at the MIT-level
• Passionate about learning new things
• Like the assignments
• Enjoy helping others as “community TAs”
Reasons for Enrolling
• Video sizes are too large
• Offer lower resolution videos for downloading
• Post video lengths at the top of lecture sequence bars
Course Videos
VideoTime
VideoTime
VideoTime
• Offer class progressions that build upon one another• Ex: 6.002, 6.003, 6.004, etc.
• Synchronize courses•Offer at the same time• Summer courses• Term based course offerings
• Project based courses
Course Offerings
• Students desire advanced and graduate-level courses
• Student collaboration opportunities
• Integrate unsolved real-world problems for students to solve•Crowd source solutions: Poly Math Project
• For pre-reqs, point to resources for students to learn material before the course
Course Offerings
• Announce courses from MIT ASAP, even if a few years off
• Impatient students may resort to starting their own courses if not offered soon enough• 6.003z
Course Announcements
• Special certificates for students who complete multiple courses in a degree track• Ex: 6.002, 6.003, 6.004, etc. – The “Online C.S. Degree”
• Graded certificates in addition to mastery certificates
• Paid certificates with proctored exams• Second offering of 6.002x•Worldwide accessibility to test centers
Course Certificates
• Experiment with courses with strict deadlines and no deadlines•Mixed reactions from students on • Coursera penalty for extended deadlines
• Keep assignment graders open after deadlines
• Always include a weekend for exam periods
• Include local time converter from UTC time
Deadlines
• Flexibility
• Include future directions and applications• Course “Road Map” of future courses
• Provide extension projects and labs• Heavy application focus
• Largest problem for students is retention
Course Content
• Student and Professor interactions
• Include challenge problems or tags•Could even offer an “advanced” certificate for students who complete all advanced problems
• Incorporate a badge system for completing tasks
The Student Experience
• 6.002x• Allow more than one circuit to be saved in circuit building software
• 6.00x•Use only one teacher to teach the entire course
Course Specific Recommendations
• Keep forums like the first 6.002x forum
• Problems with current forum:• Difficult to search for topics• Lots of bugs• No alerts if your thread gets answered or progress
• Maintain upvoting feature of old forum
• Continue competitions from 6.002x • Students were given free textbooks for producing videos or projects
• Create an MITx-type discussion forum for OCW courses
Course Forum
• Breadth of courses
• Advanced subject matter
• Disliked embedded quizzes in videos
• Textbooks must be purchased
• Comprehensive course notes
• Greater interactivity
• Dashboard for all current courses
• Vibrant discussion platform
• Truly free – no need to purchase textbooks
• Greater difficulty in courses
MITx/edX vs. Other MOOCs
• Continuity in courses
• Grad-level course offerings
• Proctored exams
• Earlier course announcements
Primary Concerns
• Any continuation of C.S. courses • 6.003x, 6.004x, 6.006x, etc.
• Math:• 18.06**, 18.03, 18.02, 18.01
• Foreign languages
• Music
• IOS/Android App development
• Bioengineering
Future Course Suggestions
• Meet with university professors or high school teachers
• Give information sessions
• Organize meetups
• Create study groups
• Interact with online students
• Conduct pedagogical research
Utilizing MISTIx Ambassadors
Informational Session
Student Meetups
• Create directed and organized trainings
• Provide support and resources while abroad
• Set specific goals and tasks
• Be open minded about reaching through different cultures
• Provide opportunity to report results
• Utilize MISTIx alumni for mentorship
How to help MISTIx Ambassadors
Thank You!