Be a guinea pig and study electronics for free at MIT! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2012, 10:04:16 pm
content: Apparently MIT is running a prototype on-line course in electronics free of charge, starting on March 5. On successful completion you will get an electronic certificate from MIT. The course provides an introduction to circuit theory and analog design, taught by Anant Agarwal, Gerald Sussman and Piotr Mitros. It could be of great interest to anyone new to the field and wanting to learn more about electronics. Apparently a reasonable background in physics and mathematics is required, to at least advanced high school/university foundation level.https://6002x.mitx.mit.edu/(I am not connected with MIT at all, I just came across this in a news article.)

author: McMonster
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2012, 10:58:19 pm
content: I've registered. Could be interesting even if I won't complete the course, you don't have an opportunity to take a course on MIT very often in this part of the world. I think this mere electronic certificate is worth much more than formal degrees on many Polish universities from a potential employer's point of view. Coincidentally today was the first day of my postgraduate studies.

author: harnon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 12:15:00 am
content: Not sure if it's the same thing but 6.002 is already available as open coursewareocw.mit.eduand on itunesu. You don't get a certificate I guess...

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 12:18:42 am
content: It's based on 6.002, but this is more than just open courseware. You have to register, study the material, and pass the tests.

author: harnon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 12:20:12 am
content: Actually, on checking out the website that looks like it will be OCW on steroids

author: Mr J
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 03:11:18 am
content: This is great, I'm in Plymouth, ma about 50 min drive time south of MIT

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 05:45:56 am
content: Quote

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 06:16:48 am
content: This awesome! Thank you for sharing, I signed up!

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 07:31:50 am
content: Signed up immediately. This should be good, can't wait.

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 03:46:26 pm
content: Enrolled.Should be fun

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 05:28:27 pm
content: Even though I got an EE degree, I went into primary software. I signed up too. It may be boring and review, but I know I'm rusty on a bunch of my analog. I'm more interested in seeing how they manage the process and the idea of online learning. I think that will be the future.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 07:28:00 pm
content: Quote from: george graves on February 14, 2012, 05:45:56 amSomething I don't have.Do you think I can finish an Open Courseware on that on 2 weeks?

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2012, 09:12:57 pm
content: Quote from: ivan747 on February 14, 2012, 07:28:00 pmThere are no negatives to trying to take this course and failing exams. Nothing. So, do what you can to learn Physics, Electricity and Magnetism.I will promise you one thing. Even if you don't "succeed in this course", you will end up with more knowledge than when you started.I would also suggesthttp://www.khanacademy.org/Specifically the electronics related portions of the Physics section. You can go through those videos and take exams on the site to validate that you are learning the information.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2012, 12:06:10 am
content: My analog skills are past rusty, so I enrolled. Certainly can't hurt.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 10:45:37 am
content: Quote from: sacherjj on February 14, 2012, 09:12:57 pmNo disrespect - but.............I doubt you'd be so bold to walk into a classroom on the first day and say that to the professor. It's no different just cause it's "free" or "online". Just my 2 cents.Quote from: sacherjj on February 14, 2012, 09:12:57 pmEeek! Well, I'll let others chime in, but this thread is a bit awkward, really. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but...The class is almost all math and theory. The first few chapters are interesting. Lots of resistor networks and how to solve them - but then it goes off the hook and you'll be doing integrals and stuff for the rest of the class. Never will there be an arduino mentioned, or even the difference between a real op-amp and an ideal op-amp.I guess what I'm saying is that for someone wanting to learn, that isn't up on the electo/mag college level physics class(that's 3'rd semister physics on a college level) - it's going to be ugly - I don't think you'll like it - and I don't think it will be worth your time. (perhaps reading Chris Anderson's book on the "free" economy would actually suite this topic quite well- lol - it's quite apropo and stuff.)I wish you the best of luck - how about you report back after chapter 3 and prove me wrong? I'd love to hear that you're doing well on it.Again - I'm all for people learning, and I love that MIT is offering this class for free (hopefully the 1000:1 drop out rate won't be a burden on them).There is a college class like this, it''s more of an AC/DC circuit class - it's a non-calc class, I don't even know if they teach it at MIT - maybe not - but that class would be much better suited to someone that hasn't taken all the calc and pzx classes. I learned a lot in it. Tons of good "how to build/tune a filter"Anyone have a link to an non-calc AC/DC series of lectures?Anyways, just my 2 cents.

author: electrode
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 11:26:44 am
content: I looked at the syllabus for this course, and it's basically like the intro to electrical engineering course I did in my first year of my degree.Yes there's a lot of maths, but there's an awful lot to learn even if you just take some of the maths for granted, and grasp a qualitative understanding of the effects of different sized passive components, parallel networks, etc.I might do it just so I can say I went to MIT.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 11:30:29 am
content: I think that's part of the attraction... So you can say you did a MIT class... urrrr........I'll let others chime in....

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 02:12:50 pm
content: Quote from: george graves on February 16, 2012, 10:45:37 amI actually have been so bold as to do that. Have you never heard of someone auditing a course that is far enough out of their range of study that it would be difficult to be completely successful in? I've done that a few times in school.This course cost NOTHING but time. Please show me the error in my statement: "There are no negatives to trying to take this course and failing exams."With the vast array of students joining this class, I fully expect all exams to be automatically graded with some type of program. Otherwise, the unknown number of students would need some associated group of people to process all the exam data. So this is very little different from auditing a course.Here is the problem I am addressing: People are completely scared of failing. It is a growing problem. Never fail. Well, the most successful people either bite of more than they can chew or try something not done before and can fail. Who cares?If someone starts this course seriously under prepared, the will either be able to ramp up their knowledge by tons of available online resources or not. It is pretty simple. It is up to each to decide if that is possible. I've done many things in life that I didn't know I could, because I thought that the worse thing that could happen is I would fail.BTW - I took AP-Calculus in High School before my going to college for Electrical Engineering, so perhaps my view of the world is skewed. However, there are enough resources on the web for anyone with the desire to have a college level education in most field.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 04:26:12 pm
content: Yea...but still.

author: Shale
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 04:36:06 pm
content: Quote from: sacherjj on February 16, 2012, 02:12:50 pmI agree. People are afraid to fail. They are taught that failure is a bad thing. Instead it should be a learning thing.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 04:45:33 pm
content: Quote from: george graves on February 16, 2012, 10:45:37 amI don't see the issue. As long as the classroom is not full (so you're taking places of other, more motivated students) or you're taking up a lot of time with questions because you didn't do the required prerequisites, what's the harm? Especially online where the only costs are some server capacity and bandwidth, which is probably infinitesimally small for a single student. MIT is probably going to get lots of free publicity out of this, I wouldn't be surprised if other major universities did the same.Quote from: george graves on February 16, 2012, 10:45:37 amFrom what I've seen from 6.002 (no idea how different the mitx version will be), it's a typical college-level class, so fairly heavy on math. Expect some algebra and differential calculus. I believe they even state this in the prerequisites. Although if I remember correctly, the professor referred to solving the system of linear equations for a resistor network as 'if you want to fall asleep, now might be a good time, this is just me having fun on the black board'. You'll find that many college courses are like this, I would be surprised if a college offered an EE program without all the calculus. The lack of practical material is why books like the Art of Electronics and ANALOG SEEKrets were written, although some of this is usually taught during lab sessions.

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 05:24:38 pm
content: I have to admit, part of this is to be able to say I studied Electronics at MIT, as a joke. I had the chance to attend MIT, but could not justify the cost and distance from home.My wife went to Harvard.......to buy a T-Shirt.

author: slateraptor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 05:45:08 pm
content: Quote from: sacherjj on February 16, 2012, 05:24:38 pmLMFAO!I'm nudging my little sister into taking the course with me; she's a high school sophomore.

author: harnon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 05:48:45 pm
content: Quote from: sacherjj on February 16, 2012, 05:24:38 pm... and I moved from Australia to Oxford... and went to the "small" uni next doorHonestly I think most professors / lecturers / teachers expect drop out from our course and are more than aware of the failure rates. About half our lecturers start their subject with "x% of people fail this class" although I'm not sure if that is as motivating as it is meant to be for some people!Basically this is a college level course on a complex subject and you can't do college engineering without maths. If you don't like this, well there are plenty of open courseware classes to teach you the maths- my personal fave is the linear algebra (Gilbert Strang is an awesome lecturer) but the single variable calculus one is pretty good as well.

author: slateraptor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2012, 06:26:17 pm
content: Quote from: harnon on February 16, 2012, 05:48:45 pmIf you think Prof. Strang is awesome, you should check out Prof. Osgood's Fourier transform course at Stanford; my Fourier analysis professor was pretty good, but Prof. Osgood takes the cake for lecture style and gusto in mathematics.

author: LukeW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2012, 09:40:40 am
content: I've signed up.It will be interesting to see how MIT compares to my existing EE undergraduate experience at one of Australia's more pretentious major universities... lots of maths you hardly ever use in real-world EE and essentially negligible teaching of these concepts translate into the practical engineering, design and construction of real-world hardware electronic devices to solve real problems. Will MIT be better? Maybe...

author: harnon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2012, 10:51:45 am
content: Quote from: slateraptor on February 16, 2012, 06:26:17 pmDo you meanthis one?If yes, based on the attached picture I like it already.

author: Joy at MCS
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2012, 08:58:26 pm
content: where does the phrase my 2 cents originate from?Just curious.I think it's great that more and more places are offering online courses.

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 29, 2012, 05:09:04 am
content: Quote from: Joy at MCS on February 28, 2012, 08:58:26 pm"my tuppence worth" old English idiom. Basically, say that what you are saying is only worth little, so as to defuse a possible contentious statement.

author: Write_to_Smokegenerator
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 29, 2012, 07:49:09 am
content: I think this looks quite interessting. Worth a Try

author: Joy at MCS
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 29, 2012, 09:36:48 am
content: Thanks for the explanation

author: MikeK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2012, 04:03:36 am
content: The class starts in less than a week. Has anyone received information from MIT yet?

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2012, 04:33:33 am
content: Quote from: MikeK on March 01, 2012, 04:03:36 amNope. Not a peep.

author: philaburns
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 12, 2012, 06:37:52 am
content: I'm a bit rusty on my elec as well so I've signed up as well.... see how we go......Dr Phil