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For your first question, MIT employees can apply for acceptance to the the Advanced Study Program. See: Employee Benefits: Taking a Course at MIT
For the question about taking classes, make sure to check out MIT OpenCourseWare and MITx on edX
For the question about interacting with students.... They're just students. They aren't magic wizards sprung from Hogwarts or something. I'm sure you're welcome to visit the student center on campus and/or visit the student club offices inside. But as for life-long dreams, there are more fulfilling ones than touching the soil outside the student center.
Educação a distância. No Brasil, várias instituições oferecem gratuitamente, como o e-aulas da USP. Em inglês também há várias possibilidades, como o EDx.
The description states that it is a tutorial for beginners by beginners, so assuming that your goal is not limited to creating Civ IV scripts, another tutorial might suit you better. I highly recommend Udacity's CS101 course for an introduction to Python. Coursera's Learn to Program: The Fundamentals class, taught by professors from the University of Toronto, just started this week and is taught using Python (3) as well. Coursera's also got another Python course starting on October 15th taught by instructors from Rice University, An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python. And MIT is offering an introduction to programming class using Python through edX, 6.00x Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, starting on October 1st. And finally, LPTHW is a good resource as well.
MIT courseware has a great python class made for self learning. Although if your looking for a class with more involvement of others such as teachers and students then check out http://www.edX.org for many free online class including Python.
The MIT Courseware class http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00sc-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-spring-2011/index.htm
To mention the MIT class is a bit more than Python as it's a focus on also an intro to general computer science but the language used for the class is Python.
Also head on other to /r/learnprogramming and /r/learnpython. Those are great sub-reddits on the topic.
Edit: The same MIT Courseware class is on edX with the same teacher and all but doesn't start until August. If your willing to wait I'm sure it is good. https://prod-edx-mktg-edit.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-8
Although really I would say it is better if you start sooner. Find a good intro course and keep going even if it's a bit tough. Learn how to Google for answers, don't be afraid to, but the best you can do is to make sure that you know why something works before you use it in you own program. Of course later you could join a different more social class and you would be farther along and have a better understanding than if you waited and just joined a more social class first.
My source on this is all my programming knowledge coming from self teach and also currently tutoring a friend who I am taking the MIT Courseware class with.
Grades used to mean something.
They meant less so we needed to add standardized testing.
Then we got “grade inflation”.
I had good grades in high school then college kicked my butt.
Do you want to look at http://www.edx.org or http://www.coursera.org and try a class you are interested in (they are mostly free, but provide no official credit - but they can help you learn)
The crucial thing to look for is : "is this a not for profit school?"
If it is a not-for-profit, like Harvard, Stanford, and University of <insert state here>, it is at least trying to educate students.
If it is a for-profit school, it is trying to provide value for the shareholders, and if students get educated, that's nice. But not necessary.
Many, many not-for-profit schools have online, including completely online programs.
And, if you want to learn, but don't need to get a degree, you can use MOOCs like http://www.coursera.org and http://www.edx.org
But before you do any of that, find someone who is doing what you want to do in the future and ask them what the good schools are, or what skills you need, or what you need to do in order to get a job in that field.
In our lab we use python for instrument control and m-script/matlab for data analysis. I always recommend edx for people wanting to learn programming. They have survey classes of languages and classes tailored to specific languages.
I'm also in the process of learning how to code--there's a local program here in St. Louis that sets prospective programmers who lack formal training up with apprenticeships. Their advice if you're starting out is to take Harvard's Intro to CS course through edX. I'm toward the beginning of the course and I love it. It looks like C is the main language used, although they hit several others. The class is free and there are online lectures and tutorials--you basically are taking the actual Harvard class. I think the class has a sub here somewhere too. It's worth looking into, I think. Even if it starts out too basic for you I'm sure there are resources there that you would find useful.
What would you do to fill the time if the power went out for the next two days?
If you want to fill hours in your day but want to stay online why not try out duolingo and learn a language? Or take a class on one of the many learning sites like EdX?
If you're looking for something physical and you like running (since you mentioned it) why not try taking up long-distance running? That'll eat up a LOT of time. You could do the same with biking if running is too difficult; I don't know your fitness level.
I don't want to overwhelm you with options so I'm going to just leave it there but if you don't like any of those ideas I'm more than happy to throw more thoughts your way. Just let me know.
Good luck.
If you're worried about it, I say skip the for-credit course and take a free online course. There are routinely free online courses on biostatistics from Coursera, EdX, Johns Hopkins Open Courseware, etc.
It's like auditing a class - you get the advantage of preparing yourself with the material, but don't have to risk a low grade on your transcript.
It's your choice, doing well in the class will help your application. However, if you're really worried about the grade, you might want to take some risk-free online classes to prepare yourself for the material.
Good luck.
I'm almost through the recommended EdX course and have found a lot of value in it. It's about $300 but is the most interactive and education online course I've attended.
Note: This link is only the first of four courses. There's a bundle somewhere but I'm struggling to find it currently. Worth the search tho.
http://www.edx.org/course/computing-in-python-i-fundamentals-and-procedural
The EdX course of Vidick and Wehner (which has videos but also normal lecture notes that can stand alone) is designed for proving just enough about quantum to understand things about interactive protocols.
http://www.edx.org/course/quantum-cryptography-caltechx-delftx-qucryptox
I read a lot of Scott Aaronson's blog and notes while I was getting up to speed in quantum computing.
I 100% agree with you.. divest in weaponry and invest in livingry... the whole political argument about education can simply be answered by frictionless technologies such as the internet, and open-source software/textbooks. Harvard and MIT have done a huge part in pioneering free education with http://www.edx.org; where anyone around the world with internet access can get an education in various in-depth subjects. India just open-sourced all of their textbooks online! We as a people need to vote with our dollar and not support these policies that prop up weapons manufacturers and defense contractors. It is bullshit. It's the biggest waste of human capital in the modern age.
I was in a very similar situation with a background in software and a desire to become more familiar with hardware. I dabbled with Arduino and followed some tutorials but never really understood much about WHY "this" connected to "that" etc.
I recently discovered edX after an AMA by one of its founders/execs and spotted a few interesting courses focussed on the subject of microcontrollers and embedded electronics.
I signed up to Embedded Systems - Shape the World about 3 weeks ago and already have a much stronger understanding of what's going on within the hardware and how the software interacts with the microcontroller ROM/RAM. The course uses a Texas Instruments board, rather than Arduino, but I believe that the knowledge and skills will be transferrable between platforms as with software.
All courses on edX are available for free (and cover a much wider range of subjects from sciences to art and languages) although you can opt to have your result "verified" for a small fee on some courses which may be of interest to those hoping to add it as a qualification on a CV or higher education application. Courses are provided by some top universities and are supported by forums monitored by TAs.
Anyway, maybe this will be of interest. Good luck with whichever route you go down!
Anyone here do online courses at coursera.org or edx.org?
I'm just finishing up this one and it's been excellent, I highly recommend it to redditors in this sub.
Hey /u/Sculpting. You don't need to apply to specific majors/schools at MIT, as it's all kind of centralized. There's a really great atmosphere there, and you can major in anything and take any class you want. Some background: I did kind of the reverse trek. I went to MIT first, and then served 5 yrs. in the Army. There's a funny (unverified?) statistic for MIT freshmen. It's this: 80% of freshmen think they got in by accident. I was certainly in this cohort, but was pleased to see my "E-3" card and realize that it wasn't an accident (or miracle). You might be able to blow that image up, but it shows what they're looking for. Mine? Recommendations and extracurriculars. I had a perfect GPA and high SAT score, but that didn't even register as a blip on the card. What they did recognize, however, were the leadership positions I took in HS, i.e. starting clubs, council, etc. It's not relevant for you, but if there's any examples of initiative/innovation you have done in the Army, I think it will only help. Some people get in because of research. Some because of grades at a top-notch HS academy. Not to discourage you, but there wasn't a single veteran in my class. I don't think MIT was excluding veterans, it's just that some of those "requirements" are fairly hard to meet in a structured, routine Army. If you could get some really kick-ass recommendations from your commanders, I think it would help tremendously. I'm not sure how much they weigh it, but why not take (free) MITx classes, earn a Computer Science Xseries certificate, and show them that you have what it takes? Good luck, brother! Feel free to send me any essay critiques or whatever.
TL; DR * Get awesome recommendations * If you haven't yet, start an engineering club or something leadership-oriented * Take and destroy MITx classes
I had great luck with CS101 at Udacity as well as, the already mentioned, Learn Python The Hard Way. edX has two classes just now starting offered through Harvard and MIT for free, get on it.
There are tooooons of options. I highly recommend EdX.orgedx it is actually an amazing online education website and is 100% legit but they have so many classes and some are video intensive.
There is a theory that I heard from this MIT course (The Challenges of Global Poverty) that whether or not a state fares well today depends on whether the colonizer (few hundred years ago) sets out the initial institution to only extract resources or to settle down at the colony. They plotted out data from some countries and seems like there is a correlation. An example is India (lots of poverty today; the British went there to extract resources only) vs Australia (not much poverty; the British went there to settle down).
So in terms of Singapore, even if the colonizer is different, I would say Singapore would be more or less the same today
Here's a free course you may want to check out! http://www.edx.org/course/software-engineering-introduction
Edit: I would recommend a course like this for anyone going into any kind of software development, honestly. It's important to look at the meta of why and how software is designed the way it is, and how to leverage client needs with your abilities. This is the kind of stuff project managers make tons of money for, and it's always nice to be the person leading the project.
i cannot recommend enough the courses how to code: simple data and how to code: complex data on edx. they are taught by a person highly involved in common lisp, which is the language taught by land of lisp. the course is based upon the book how to design programs. the language used in the course is racket, which is relative of lisp and scheme.
there is also the book realm of racket that is very similar to land of lisp and is more beginner friendly. i recommend it as well.
definitely do the courses i mentioned. they're amazing. try land of lisp. if it's too hard, switch to realm of racket.
Try and keep to a 9-5 schedule. Go to a coffee shop, but a cup, a roll/scone to keep them from getting antsy, and spend the day there (even better two coffee shops).
Keep busy. Take a free edX course that will make you more marketable in your field (or pay if you want credits), take an in-person class too if you can afford it (but make sure that they'll work around a full-time work schedule in case you go back to work before you're done).
Use the extra time to be social, with your family, friends, and Meetups. Keep me updated and let me know if you need more advice!
If you're sticking with a couple of courses and have felt the classes are really hard since you have no programming experience, I would encourage you to take advantage of your professors' office hours. Drop by and ask questions when you don't understand. If you're in the U.S., most semesters just started in January so it's still very early and you'll have time to catch up. Don't be intimidated by others that had computer classes in high school.
Maybe it would help motivate you in these classes to look at them as the path you're taking to get to your time off. That's your goal, but you want to complete these credits first.
Once you are off, you could consider taking free online college classes for fun. I know, it doesn't sound like fun right now, but if there were no grades and no pressure from anyone it could be. edX.org is a great portal to online classes starting all the time that are offered by Ivy League (MIT, Harvard, Yale...) schools as well as other great colleges around the world. You watch short videos, write programs, take tests (if you want to), and can communicate with others taking the class. I think they also have some high school courses on there now that prepare you for taking Advanced Placement tests. coursera.org is another portal to free college courses. I've never taken one through them, though. If you could find an entry level programming class that you actually enjoyed, it might help you feel more confident when you go back to school.
I have a MSc in Biochemistry and decided "fuck it" and switched after defending my thesis (I'm currently 28). However, before making the dive, there are plenty of free online resources to give you a head start and to give you an idea of what you're in for (since us diving head first into things we had no clue about was what got us into this kind of situation to begin with:P). Here are some of those resources:
http://www.coursera.org (I like these)
http://www.edx.org (I like these too)
http://www.udacity.com (Nice introductions, but Coursera and edX are definitely more rigourous in my experience)
Good luck!:)
What do you think of Harvard's CS50: Introduction to Computer Science?
>This is CS50, Harvard University's introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming for majors and non-majors alike, with or without prior programming experience. An entry-level course taught by David J. Malan, CS50 teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. Topics include abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. Languages include C, PHP, and JavaScript plus SQL, CSS, and HTML. Problem sets inspired by real-world domains of biology, cryptography, finance, forensics, and gaming. As of Fall 2014, the on-campus version of CS50 was Harvard's largest course.
Books are a great resource during your down time in the lab; however, there is also a great wealth of online classes available for free. Sites like edx.org feature great chemistry instruction complete with practice problems and supporting literature.
I'm not in any way affiliated. I just really enjoy their chemistry and physics courses.
I just took the 6.00.2x course over at edx. We covered data clustering using k-means and heirarchical algorithms, but there was a mention in the book of another common method of data clustering, the Expectation Maximization algorithm, that didn't have any explanation. Can you explain the EM algorithm, perhaps in words of fewer than three syllables?
If you're interested in structured classes, edx and Coursera offer classes from various universities for free. Some are self-paced/start anytime and others have specific start and end dates, usually with hard deadlines for assignments and projects. I'm currently taking an introductory Java class with an intro to Python starting in a couple months. I think combining classes and Code Academy would be extra helpful.
Good luck to us!
edx.org has a Computer Science course from Harvard that is using C. The professor said the class will also use JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL. The course is cs50x. I started it 2 days ago and like it so far.
Just because I have no best friends doesn't mean I have no friends. I have some coworkers who are good for a drink or to grab a pizza with once a week or so. Other than that, I go to the gym, mess with my fantasy hockey team, try and fail to teach myself new crafts, and take free online courses from places like coursera and edx.
I'm pretty happy with my life.
Mi recomendacion es: aprende ingles y aprendelo bien. A un punto en el que puedas escribir, leer y escuchar sin problemas. La mejor informacion sobre temas de tecnologia informatica esta en ingles. En http://www.coursera.org, http://class.standford.edu y http://www.edx.org hay muchos cursos y algunos de ellos incluso tienen una infraestructura sofisticada que te permite enviar programas a sus sevidores y ellos los corren automaticamente y te dan un puntaje, como el de Algoritmos de Princeton.
MIT6.002x is being offered again in just a few weeks. I found it very fulfilling. It took me more than the 12 hours per week suggested on the syllabus but I took the pre-requisites 15 years ago.
I'd like to say because that's how they make money by teaching classes but......
Some schools do offer free lectures and courses online. There are tons of them when you look for them. Who says you need it to be from a professor at a school to learn? There are YouTube videos teaching you how to do almost anything you can think of.
Obviously some classes must be taken with supervision, parts of chemistry can have bad reactions and safety would be an issue. Microchip design and making require machines that no one really can afford. For example.