Courses: March to April 2024
Apr. 7th, 2024 03:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitI've completed eight courses over the last six weeks, but they've all been very short:
Four FutureLearn:
Introduction to Modern Art (Taipei Medical University) A subject I know little about and was keen to learn more. It began explaining art in the pre-modern era and progressed onto the Impressionists, but after that the presentation and the way the course jumped around meant I was little wiser by the end. From the few comments there were, I was not alone in feeling this. It's usual for a new course to have interaction from the tutor but there was nothing there either.
The Rise of K-Culture: Discover the Korean Wave (Hanyang University) Having seen friends interest in K-Pop and K-Drama I was curious to learn more. This was a very basic introduction but it was good to have a connection with something others enjoy, even if it's not for me.
Come Rain or Shine (University of Reading) A slightly older science course looking at the reasons why the weather is as it is, especially in the UK, but also more briefly elsewhere. I found the reading of weather charts particularly interesting and began to get a grasp of what they mean. It may not help greatly in the future - I shall continue to look out of the window - but the knowledge is always useful.
Unlocking the Secrets of the Chinese Language (Universiti Malaya) If I'd worked at it I could have learnt some basic vocabulary, but at present I have no use for it. However, it did show how the Chinese vowels are sounded which is extremely important and gave a better feel for the language even if I wasn't going to understand what was said.
Four OpenLearn:
Empires: power, resistance, legacies A new course, looking at both sides within an empire, both conqueror and subject. It looked at a number of empires, including the Spanish and the Ottoman as well as the British Empire. It was good to see more than just the British in India and the Caribbean.
Tay Bridge Disaster An engineering course, the complex engineering tasks were beyond me, although I could cope with some of the basic theories. Having been to Dundee last October and taken the train over the replacement Tay Bridge learning more about it, having seen mention in the museum was really interesting. It also gave me greater understanding when reading about the recent Baltimore Bridge collapse.
Data analysis: Visualisation in Excel Another new course. I took it because I thought it might be helpful in presenting details for our charity, but in the end I didn't learn much that would be useful. It didn't help that some of the examples were so simplified that the graphs produced made no sense.
Crime fiction in French: le polar francais My final new course. Being a great fan of detective fiction I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the French version. As the course was all in French I did struggle a bit, although I managed to understand the majority of the course, which I was pleased about. It was definitely worth the effort to take it.
Four FutureLearn:
Introduction to Modern Art (Taipei Medical University) A subject I know little about and was keen to learn more. It began explaining art in the pre-modern era and progressed onto the Impressionists, but after that the presentation and the way the course jumped around meant I was little wiser by the end. From the few comments there were, I was not alone in feeling this. It's usual for a new course to have interaction from the tutor but there was nothing there either.
The Rise of K-Culture: Discover the Korean Wave (Hanyang University) Having seen friends interest in K-Pop and K-Drama I was curious to learn more. This was a very basic introduction but it was good to have a connection with something others enjoy, even if it's not for me.
Come Rain or Shine (University of Reading) A slightly older science course looking at the reasons why the weather is as it is, especially in the UK, but also more briefly elsewhere. I found the reading of weather charts particularly interesting and began to get a grasp of what they mean. It may not help greatly in the future - I shall continue to look out of the window - but the knowledge is always useful.
Unlocking the Secrets of the Chinese Language (Universiti Malaya) If I'd worked at it I could have learnt some basic vocabulary, but at present I have no use for it. However, it did show how the Chinese vowels are sounded which is extremely important and gave a better feel for the language even if I wasn't going to understand what was said.
Four OpenLearn:
Empires: power, resistance, legacies A new course, looking at both sides within an empire, both conqueror and subject. It looked at a number of empires, including the Spanish and the Ottoman as well as the British Empire. It was good to see more than just the British in India and the Caribbean.
Tay Bridge Disaster An engineering course, the complex engineering tasks were beyond me, although I could cope with some of the basic theories. Having been to Dundee last October and taken the train over the replacement Tay Bridge learning more about it, having seen mention in the museum was really interesting. It also gave me greater understanding when reading about the recent Baltimore Bridge collapse.
Data analysis: Visualisation in Excel Another new course. I took it because I thought it might be helpful in presenting details for our charity, but in the end I didn't learn much that would be useful. It didn't help that some of the examples were so simplified that the graphs produced made no sense.
Crime fiction in French: le polar francais My final new course. Being a great fan of detective fiction I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the French version. As the course was all in French I did struggle a bit, although I managed to understand the majority of the course, which I was pleased about. It was definitely worth the effort to take it.
