Coursera

[Walks_At_Night]

A couple of years ago I signed up for the Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies class over on Coursera.   It was purported to cover "the topic of the use of Images, Film, and their use in historical interpretation in the 20th century. It is primarily provided for those who have a general interest in history that draws on photojournalism as primary evidence, and films based on historical events."

It seemed interesting and the courses are free on Coursera if you do not want a certificate so I signed on up.  The class was taught by a guy named Emmett Sullivan out of the University of London.  It was clear from the get go that he had not put in the work up front that was necessary.  While the topic was interesting the lectures were more like a Falkie haul video then anything - he just kind of winged it said whatever came to mind.  His conclusions seemed dubious and it was evident that the class was a royal goat screw.

Things got even more Falkie-like on the forum associated with the class.   The instructor obviously had never spent much time in online forums as he seemed oblivious to trolling and he would swallow the most outrageous statements made by the students hook, line and sinker.   After about two weeks into the class it was touch and go as to whether it would continue or not.  The instructor indicated that the schools Administration was looking on and were none to pleased. 

Then the instructors account got hacked and the forum entered a surreal state where you never knew who was who.   I was real busy with work and life and couldn't justify the time sink.   

I've noticed that the instructor must have persevered as there is a new section of Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies starting up in early March so I am going to give it another go.

[Ciardelo]

A couple of years ago I signed up for the Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies class over on Coursera.   It was purported to cover "the topic of the use of Images, Film, and their use in historical interpretation in the 20th century. It is primarily provided for those who have a general interest in history that draws on photojournalism as primary evidence, and films based on historical events."

It seemed interesting and the courses are free on Coursera if you do not want a certificate so I signed on up.  The class was taught by a guy named Emmett Sullivan out of the University of London.  It was clear from the get go that he had not put in the work up front that was necessary.  While the topic was interesting the lectures were more like a Falkie haul video then anything - he just kind of winged it said whatever came to mind.  His conclusions seemed dubious and it was evident that the class was a royal goat screw.

Things got even more Falkie-like on the forum associated with the class.   The instructor obviously had never spent much time in online forums as he seemed oblivious to trolling and he would swallow the most outrageous statements made by the students hook, line and sinker.   After about two weeks into the class it was touch and go as to whether it would continue or not.  The instructor indicated that the schools Administration was looking on and were none to pleased. 

Then the instructors account got hacked and the forum entered a surreal state where you never knew who was who.   I was real busy with work and life and couldn't justify the time sink.   

I've noticed that the instructor must have persevered as there is a new section of Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies starting up in early March so I am going to give it another go.

Why not? I signed up for some courses a while ago, it's all good. I really didn't like one course presenter, his voice just droned on and on...in my real life, most of my college professors were quite animated.

Don't cost nuttin' so there's that

[Walks_At_Night]

Why not? I signed up for some courses a while ago, it's all good. I really didn't like one course presenter, his voice just droned on and on...in my real life, most of my college professors were quite animated.

Don't cost nuttin' so there's that

Yeppers.  That's my thinking.  Hopefully it gets real weird again this time around.  I kind of regret pulling the rip cord on the
insanity the first time.  I was real busy and that was in my pre-Falkie thread days where I had a lower tolerance for that
kind of thing........

[Ciardelo]

Yeppers.  That's my thinking.  Hopefully it gets real weird again this time around.  I kind of regret pulling the rip cord on the
insanity the first time.  I was real busy and that was in my pre-Falkie thread days where I had a lower tolerance for that
kind of thing........

A high tolerance for a bat-shit crazy tomfoolery is covered in the BellGab handbook, sir.

[albrecht]

I knew a gal who was taking a real course at a private university get a degree at night and summers (a "non-traditional" student going back to school for Masters.) Company paid but had to get B or better average to recompense. Anyway a new teacher for, as I recall, HR and legal climate class, was crazy. At first she was rambling and had an unsorted syllabus and started out with some line like "what do you want to talk about?") Students started looking at each other. It derailed from there with students, who actually were running or working in business, running the class and contradicting the teacher on points. She would shrug and say "I'm learning a lot from you" and would make statements about her personal life and stress. At one point during student case study presentations she went to the back of the room and "laid down." After first test everyone got an A or a B and some said, "ok, fuck it," but others said "I'm frigging paying and want to learn something" or "with this crazy teacher who knows if she will fail us at random or something and than I'm out of pocket?" Someone informed and next class there was some administration in the class, the next class the teacher disappeared and the class was taken over by an older, more legitimate professor.

[Walks_At_Night]

When you are paying good money or really want to get something out of a course that is a real bite.

The year in High School when you learn to diagram sentences I had this real old guy as my English teacher. 
He had been in a terrible car accident some years before and he would spend the whole class talking about
this accident or how he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians and played some minor league ball.  Every day
was like that - it was either reliving this accident or tales of life in A ball.  Anybody that showed up and stuck
it out got an automatic A+.   

Bitchin' I thought.   This is awesome - and so it was until I had to take the ACT Test and there were questions
on it about diagramming sentences, indirect objects, predicates and other horrible shit I had no clue about.  Strange
enough there was nothing on mangled Studebaker's, pinned legs and fears of being burned alive as the flame
got closer nor was there anything about the inability to hit curve balls and how the girlies in West Virginia loved ball players.

I went to an Engineering college where while required, English wasn't emphasized and to this very day, I probably
can't write properly.   I read a lot so I think I can get my point across but I know what I write isn't correct.   

[Ciardelo]

I wasn't a very good student, what with the pot smoking, drinking and staying up all night screwing my girlfriend to sounds of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida in the 8-track...

https://www.grammarly.com/

[zeebo]

... and he would spend the whole class talking about
this accident or how he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians and played some minor league ball. 

Years ago I got stuck in traffic school for the day.  Teacher was this older guy who liked telling these corny jokes.  After a couple hours of nonsense I was wondering if we'd actually learn something useful, considering we were forced by law to pay for this dumb class.  So guy breaks out a vcr/tv and I'm thinking we're gonna catch some cool driving skills movie - instead he's got some grainy video of his open-mic stand-up "comedy" act.  It was then I swore I'd never break the speed limit again.