Below is a distillation of "free" university/college level education material.
It involved
1) going through up to 200 result links for each of the following queries "free online courses", "open university courses", "free college courses", "free university videos" and "free college videos". [The word "free" is used intentionally in these queries to avoid all the various online universities/colleges/courses that you can pay/apply for]
2) sampling 2-3 courses in each of the sites to evaluate content quality (not delivery, or the expert level of the tutor)
3) weeding out lots of poor material
==
Very Good quality
MIT Opencourseware - http://ocw.mit.edu/
CMU - http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/
Health-related Open courses in Johns Hopkins - http://ocw.jhsph.edu/
British Open University - http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/
Stanford's portal in iTunes - http://itunes.stanford.edu/overview.html
(many other universities have such free iTunes stores)
Some of them are at http://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/
Engineering-only is at http://see.stanford.edu/
Berkeley - http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php
UC Irvine - http://ocw.uci.edu/
Utah State Univ - http://ocw.usu.edu/
Good quality
Yale - http://oyc.yale.edu/
IIT (mainly science and engineering) - http://www.youtube.com/user/nptelhrd
Tufts - http://ocw.tufts.edu/
Notre Dame - http://ocw.nd.edu/
Mainly science - http://www.freesciencelectures.com/ (mix of good and mediocre)
Aggregation sites
http://www.youtube.com/edu
http://academicearth.org/
http://videolectures.net/
http://freevideolectures.com/
http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses has direct links to specific course pages based on topic.
http://wlh.webhost.utexas.edu/ - Search engine for finding university online courses, but I found that it missed some top links as shown above.
http://www.ocwsearch.com/ - seems slightly better
http://home.comcast.net/~plutarch/lectures.html - pointers to various universities' iTunes and ocw pages
For music, Berklee College of Music offers some free material - http://www.berkleeshares.com/
Poor quality/Unimpressed
http://www.peoi.org/
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page
http://cnx.org/
There were a lot more links but the quality was just so poor that I did not want to quote them here.
==
For many topics, my favorite is The Teaching Company - http://www.teach12.com/ and its Great Courses series.
For school-level educational material, Khan Academy - http://www.khanacademy.org/ seems very popular.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Pleasant Surprise in Zurich
While walking back from the Google office in Zurich, I found this pizza place near my hotel and since it was getting late, I decided to pick up a pizza.
There were 2 brown men chatting in the lobby. They looked Indian.
Anand: "Hello, Can I have a thin crust with jalapeno and bell pepper toppings?"
Man A: "Eingusdehen.. veejus" (or something like that)
Man B (trying to clarify him), spewing more Swiss German at me.
Anand: "Hello, Can I have a thin crust with jalapeno and bell pepper toppings?"
Man A: "Eingusdehen.. veejus" (or something like that)
Man B (trying to clarify him), spewing more Swiss German at me.
Anand: Pizza topping hai? moTaa mirchi hai naa? jalapeno?
They stare at me like I am nuts. Hmm. If Hindi also does not work, I start some hand signals.
Other than "pizza", they do not get anything. no "topping", no "jalapeno", no "bell pepper", no "very little cheese".. They are a little annoyed and throw more German at me.They stare at me like I am nuts. Hmm. If Hindi also does not work, I start some hand signals.
I am almost ready to give up..
..and hear one voice inside call out to someone - "inga vaanga"
and I smile.. "neenga thamizhangalaa?"
they also smile..
"aamaanga.. thamizh theriyumaa?"
:)
Srilankan refugees from 22 yrs ago!
After that, it was very easy.. and I just finished this really really awesome pizza!Many Srilankans have settled here since 20-30 yrs it seems.
They said most are poor and have small shops. Their children are studying well, and speak thamizh at home.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_diaspora indicates that there are ~50K Tamilians in Switzerland now.
Friday, July 16, 2010
All reporting below is non-fiction; I was tempted to spice things up, but the actual happenings are themselves quite exciting, so I left it the way it happened.
[This happened ~Dec 11, 2007. I had noted down the details and shared with some friends by email.]
At the hotel "Museum Inn" in Bangalore:
Anand (on the phone) : Could you get me today's The Hindu and Times of India? I would like both of them.
Reception: Yes Sir; Surely Sir.
(after 5 min, call from Reception)
Reception: Sir, we wanted to check if you want only The Hindu or only Times of India or both.
Anand: I would like both.
(after 5 min, call from Reception)
Reception: Sir, we have asked the boy to get you the paper, Sir. Do you also want the Business Standard Sir? Neither Times of India nor The Hindu has a good business section, Sir.
Anand: No, I would like only these two.
(after 5 min, a boy appears at the doorstep)
Boy1: Sir, here is The Hindu, Sir.
Anand: I had asked for the Times of India also.
Boy1: Oh. I will check with the Reception, Sir.
(returning to the table and realizing that it is The Hindu of the earlier day)
(making a call to the reception)
Anand: Hello. I had asked for both The Hindu and Times of India. A boy came and gave me The Hindu, but he gave me yesterday's issue and not today's. Also, I do not have Times of India. Again, I would like today's issue of Times of India.
Reception: Sorry Sir. We will correct it immediately. Do you want yesterday's Times of India also, Sir?
Anand: No, I would like only today's.
(after 3 min, a different boy appears at the doorstep)
Boy2: Sir, Here is today's issue of The Hindu, Sir.
Anand: Thank you (did not want to question about the ToI)
(after 3 min, Boy1 is back)
Boy1: Sorry Sir, I did not see properly and brought yesterday's issue of The Hindu. I realized it when I went back. Here is today's The Hindu.
Anand: Oh, thats ok. Another boy just came by and gave me today's The Hindu. I had also asked for the Times of India. Today's Times of India. Can you get me that?
(after 2 min, Boy2 is back)
Boy2: Sir, I was told that you got yesterday's The Hindu by mistake. Can I take it back, Sir?
(Anand returning yesterday's issue; Deciding not to bring up the Times
of India issue)
(after 5 min, Boy2 is back)
Boy2: Sir, I was told that you need Times of India also. Did you get it already Sir?
Anand: I did not get it, but there was another boy who was going to get it for me.
(after 10 min, no news from either Boy1 or Boy2)
(after the above incidents, if I were you, I would not have called up anyone for ToI again. But, since I am I, I call up the Reception)
Anand: Hello. I had asked for today's Times of India and did not get it.
Reception: Oh. I thought somebody came for that already. Sorry for the delay, Sir
(after 5 min, Boy2 is back)
Boy2: Sir, I was walking by the reception, and found today's Times of India. So, I brought it, Sir.
Anand: OK. Thanks. If you see any other boys bringing me Times of India, please ask them not to.
(after 3 min, Boy3 arrives!!)
Boy3: The reception told me you want Times of India, Sir, Here is today's Times of India, Sir.
Anand: Oh. Somebody already brought it for me. Thanks but I do not need this.
(after 1 min, call from reception)
Reception: Sir, you had asked for Times of India, but now the Boy says you do not want it.
Anand: Oh. Sorry for the confusion, but the boy who brought me The Hindu before also brought me the Times of India this time. I am sorry I did not call you and tell you.
(after 5 min, Boy1 comes back!!)
Boy1: Sorry Sir, I had to go to the shop nearby to get the Times of India; only yesterday's issue was there with us in the service room. I brought both, Sir, just in case you want both.
Anand (speechless, not wanting to explain again, and make the poor boy lose the satisfaction of delivering, since I had already rejected today's The Hindu before):
Oh. Thanks a lot. Sorry for all the trouble.
Finally, I had 1 copy of The Hindu and two copies of Times of India and had successfully tired out 3 servicemen! :(
It would have taken me 4 min to walk down to the lobby and pick up both the papers for today (which I had seen when I entered the lobby).
While I was looking for "service", I wasted ~45 min!
To atone for all the bad karma, I read both papers almost from start
to finish :)
[This happened ~Dec 11, 2007. I had noted down the details and shared with some friends by email.]
At the hotel "Museum Inn" in Bangalore:
Anand (on the phone) : Could you get me today's The Hindu and Times of India? I would like both of them.
Reception: Yes Sir; Surely Sir.
(after 5 min, call from Reception)
Reception: Sir, we wanted to check if you want only The Hindu or only Times of India or both.
Anand: I would like both.
(after 5 min, call from Reception)
Reception: Sir, we have asked the boy to get you the paper, Sir. Do you also want the Business Standard Sir? Neither Times of India nor The Hindu has a good business section, Sir.
Anand: No, I would like only these two.
(after 5 min, a boy appears at the doorstep)
Boy1: Sir, here is The Hindu, Sir.
Anand: I had asked for the Times of India also.
Boy1: Oh. I will check with the Reception, Sir.
(returning to the table and realizing that it is The Hindu of the earlier day)
(making a call to the reception)
Anand: Hello. I had asked for both The Hindu and Times of India. A boy came and gave me The Hindu, but he gave me yesterday's issue and not today's. Also, I do not have Times of India. Again, I would like today's issue of Times of India.
Reception: Sorry Sir. We will correct it immediately. Do you want yesterday's Times of India also, Sir?
Anand: No, I would like only today's.
(after 3 min, a different boy appears at the doorstep)
Boy2: Sir, Here is today's issue of The Hindu, Sir.
Anand: Thank you (did not want to question about the ToI)
(after 3 min, Boy1 is back)
Boy1: Sorry Sir, I did not see properly and brought yesterday's issue of The Hindu. I realized it when I went back. Here is today's The Hindu.
Anand: Oh, thats ok. Another boy just came by and gave me today's The Hindu. I had also asked for the Times of India. Today's Times of India. Can you get me that?
(after 2 min, Boy2 is back)
Boy2: Sir, I was told that you got yesterday's The Hindu by mistake. Can I take it back, Sir?
(Anand returning yesterday's issue; Deciding not to bring up the Times
of India issue)
(after 5 min, Boy2 is back)
Boy2: Sir, I was told that you need Times of India also. Did you get it already Sir?
Anand: I did not get it, but there was another boy who was going to get it for me.
(after 10 min, no news from either Boy1 or Boy2)
(after the above incidents, if I were you, I would not have called up anyone for ToI again. But, since I am I, I call up the Reception)
Anand: Hello. I had asked for today's Times of India and did not get it.
Reception: Oh. I thought somebody came for that already. Sorry for the delay, Sir
(after 5 min, Boy2 is back)
Boy2: Sir, I was walking by the reception, and found today's Times of India. So, I brought it, Sir.
Anand: OK. Thanks. If you see any other boys bringing me Times of India, please ask them not to.
(after 3 min, Boy3 arrives!!)
Boy3: The reception told me you want Times of India, Sir, Here is today's Times of India, Sir.
Anand: Oh. Somebody already brought it for me. Thanks but I do not need this.
(after 1 min, call from reception)
Reception: Sir, you had asked for Times of India, but now the Boy says you do not want it.
Anand: Oh. Sorry for the confusion, but the boy who brought me The Hindu before also brought me the Times of India this time. I am sorry I did not call you and tell you.
(after 5 min, Boy1 comes back!!)
Boy1: Sorry Sir, I had to go to the shop nearby to get the Times of India; only yesterday's issue was there with us in the service room. I brought both, Sir, just in case you want both.
Anand (speechless, not wanting to explain again, and make the poor boy lose the satisfaction of delivering, since I had already rejected today's The Hindu before):
Oh. Thanks a lot. Sorry for all the trouble.
Finally, I had 1 copy of The Hindu and two copies of Times of India and had successfully tired out 3 servicemen! :(
It would have taken me 4 min to walk down to the lobby and pick up both the papers for today (which I had seen when I entered the lobby).
While I was looking for "service", I wasted ~45 min!
To atone for all the bad karma, I read both papers almost from start
to finish :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Jobs interview in D8 conference
Steve Jobs Interview with Kara and Walt on http://video.allthingsd.com/
(with some minor paraphrasing)
- "Takes 3 secs to sell an iPad"
- On ATT call quality, "Infrastructure improvements happening - Things get worse before they get lot better. You are in the former stage now and expect things to improve soon"
- On TV, "Apple TV is a hobby, since there is no good Go-to-market strategy that works with TV. Nobody is ready to pay for set-top-boxes"
- On iPhone's Origin, "I wanted a multi-touch display for a tablet first. The nice scrolling told me we should do the phone first."
- On Newspapers, "I dont want us to descend into a nation of bloggers. I think we need editorial more than ever right now."
- On Google, "We have some Google properties on the phone. Yes we compete. But that does not mean we have to be rude"
He continues to impress with his "Know your numbers" trait and "Be direct" attitude.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
[Nostalgia] Reminiscences of School Days
Over the last week, I have gotten back in touch with at least 10 of my high school (then, National English School - NES, now NPS) friends thanks to Facebook, and I wanted to capture these gushing set of memories from childhood:
[I will be surprised if everything below is true, but it is my current version of the events frozen in my fast decaying memory that I wanted to record]
[I will be surprised if everything below is true, but it is my current version of the events frozen in my fast decaying memory that I wanted to record]
- fracture due to a fall from sarukku maram (slide) in International school, Delhi
- playing running games with Sekar
- playing cricket with Arun and running races against Jameel in Jain school, T. Nagar
- spending all waking hours playing some game or other with periya Anand (table tennis, under-arm cricket, carroms)
- getting together with 20 others in Somanathan mama's house to watch Kevin Curren vs Boris Becker (going home and thinking about Becker being an incarnation of god)
- standing in the bus stop with periya Anand trying to see who can spot the number on the bus from the farthest distance
- going in the rickshaw with periya Anand, Kshiraja and Gayathri constantly counting the number of foreign cars - our favorite was Peugeot
- getting sick before Chemistry test and praying to all the gods for intense rain the next day and/or Usha Ramani also getting sick with the same virus
- getting mother's help for biology class diagrams to prevent my frog by being interpreted as lizard
- missing the 3A bus, catching 5, missing the Music Academy bus stop, and walking all the way from Royapettah Rd. bus stop, plotting with Gayathri to not leak to parents
- Saada Soda - 50 paise, Paneer Soda - 60 paise; Hoping it was closer to Aditya Pappu's Pocket Money day, so everyone nearby gets free paneer soda and puff!
- veg puff in priya bakery with Fiaz
- scrambling in Eshvari Lending Library to find good Commando comics
- long dumb charades practise sessions with Fiaz and Nirav arguing over what single symbol we could use for the movie "The man who knew too much"
- slowly building enough savings for the awesome Coconut bun in Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan and going at 4:30pm on multiple days to find it get sold out!
- begging appa/amma for Eclairs (25 or 30 paise) for birthday gift to friends instead of Caramilk (20 paise each)
- all children watching our parents play carroms every week in the common space between our homes
- being thrilled when the fan that was creaking for 5 months stopped making the annoying noise when appa put a little oil near its anchor
- fighting with Gayathri over who gets the "fairer share" of the 5-star candy bar some visitor just gifted to us (kuTTifying (hitting) the head, promising to use a less militant strategy after appa settled the fight giving her the bigger piece because she was younger!)
- attempting to note down all the girl friends of Aditya and running out of paper
- playing tennis ball cricket in Gopalapuram corporation ground with several cosco balls repeatedly crossing over from the 10 other matches being played nearby
- playing cricket in Vatsa and Srikant's flat complex and disbanding in earnest once a brilliantly played shot got some neighbor's window to an architectural state the neighbor did not have the aesthetics to appreciate
- elated every time Krishna and I beat Hari and another person in book cricket (despite claims of match fixing by Hari noticing some ridges on the pages 268 and 346)
- competing in extra curricular activities leading the Radiance group
- playing for 40 minutes in round toss table tennis going from 50 people down to 3 of us and PT master comes in and says the period is over
- joining with periya Anand to draw on various charts for advertisements for TG for the post of SPL (School Pupil Leader)
- excited to see Gayathri sing in choir in assembly and principal saying good things about her (annoyed when every classmate tests genetic theory by asking me to sing)
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