Thread: Here's all 12 free online Stanford computer science courses

The AI course wasn't the only one. There's 12 (plus seminars), and the content is freely available online. There is also an outstanding database design class available. The DB class had graded assignments, a midterm, and a final -- and 90,000 students!!

Stanford School of Engineering - Stanford Engineering Everywhere

Introduction to Computer Science
Programming Methodology CS106A
Programming Abstractions CS106B
Programming Paradigms CS107

Artificial Intelligence
Introduction to Robotics CS223A
Natural Language Processing CS224N
Machine Learning CS229

Linear Systems and Optimization
The Fourier Transform and its Applications EE261
Introduction to Linear Dynamical Systems EE263
Convex Optimization I EE364A
Convex Optimization II EE364B

Additional School of Engineering Courses
Programming Massively Parallel Processors CS193G
iPhone Application Programming CS193P
Seminars and Webinars

No credit for these right?

Nope. The DB class gave a "statement of accomplishment" to 6,500 people after the 9 week (or so) class. I still think its an incredible service and I also think this is a sign of things to come. Alternatives to college certification are coming. The MacArthur Foundation (major NPR funder) is funding ($2 million!) a project to develop "digital badges" that will provide evidence of learning achievements. My best guess is they are trying to come up with something like the Khan Academy badges, but for education in general? Not sure but it sounds like a lot of people are starting to chip away at the wall. I suspect it will still take well over a decade for anything to be seriously considered.

The digital badge thing sounds a little funny. Industry certifications are certainly important and have gained respect over the past 10 or 20 years. I think the regional accreditors should innovate a little and provide some sort of CLEP exam equivalent at the graduate level. There is already a delivery channel for CLEP so why not just ride those rails? I could see taking HRM5000, intro to HR management at the grad level as a CLEP. The entire MBA, minus a capstone could be CLEPped out of.