OnlineDegree.com Is Finally Open

[a2jc4life]

It looks like the core part of each course comes from either Great Courses or UCI Open Courseware.  Each lesson includes the main lecture (from one of these sources) and then supplementary videos and materials. The quiz description says that the quizzes are based on the main lecture.

It seems like it would be nice, then, to have an option to simply get credit for a Great Courses or UCI Open Courseware course by creating a proctored final.  Why recreate the course, when these courses have already been created?  Why not just create the means for evaluating mastery?

[eriehiker]

It seems like it would be nice, then, to have an option to simply get credit for a Great Courses or UCI Open Courseware course by creating a proctored final.  Why recreate the course, when these courses have already been created?  Why not just create the means for evaluating mastery?

That is actually what these courses are.  Onlinedegree.com does not create any actual content.  It just uses either material that is in the public domain or material that is capable of being used in classes for which there is no charge.  My first gut level feeling was that this is a little bit shady.  However, I have now taken almost three complete classes and I think that the course designers really know what they are doing in terms of gathering really excellent videos.  I also think that the quizzes are excellent.  I have noticed a few spelling issues and a couple of questions with incorrect answers, but the quizzes are challenging and require me to do some deep searching.  I am generally trying to complete the courses as quickly as possible, but I find that by the exam I actually know a lot of the material because the quizzes have forced me to look it up.  So that is some value-added.  The exams then assess knowledge of the videos, quizzes and that was all created by onlinedegree.com.  I think that the econ. exam was easier than other econ. exams and the public health exam was more difficult than expected.  I think that every provider fine tunes exams as results come in.

---

BTW, I just came across an assignment in the English/Education course. Here are the assignment rules:

Assignment: Develop and Upload a Conceptual Framework
ED103 Course Assignment
As part of this course, you need to develop a conceptual framework that illustrates the intersection between theories you’re learning in the lessons and practice. Select 3 to 4 foundational theories learned in this course and describe how and when it may be applied in an educational setting with students, as well as potential barriers and corresponding solutions that may arise during the application. Create a visual diagram to show this.

In addition to the visual diagram, then explain the diagram using narrative paragraph form. Minimum of 3-4 paragraphs.

Sample Diagram & Explanation

Here is a sample diagram that you can use as a template to create your conceptual framework assignment. However, other diagrams would be acceptable as well (tree map, multi-flow map, etc.)

Grading

The assignment will NOT contribute to your final grade. However, it is mandatory to complete it, and upload it here. The following rubric is how your submission will be evaluated.

Steps You Should Take

Download the sample diagram or create your own to develop the conceptual framework for your assignment
Follow the instructions above and select 3 to 4 foundational theories learned in this course and describe how and when it may be applied in an educational setting with students, as well as potential barriers and corresponding solutions that may arise during the application
Write 3-4 paragraphs below the diagram in the same document explaining your work.
Upload your completed diagram in a Microsoft Word Document format at the top of this page
The assignment will NOT contribute to your final grade. However, it is mandatory to complete it, and upload it here.

[bluebooger]

and you can't sit on the couch with your laptop on your lap when you do the exam  
which is stupid

I'm pretty sure you could challenge that since it is technically not disallowed by the standard proctoring rules on RPnow.

page 3 
http://www.softwaresecure.com/wp-content...amples.pdf 

unless I'm reading it wrong

[badooble]

It looks like the core part of each course comes from either Great Courses or UCI Open Courseware.  Each lesson includes the main lecture (from one of these sources) and then supplementary videos and materials. The quiz description says that the quizzes are based on the main lecture.

It seems like it would be nice, then, to have an option to simply get credit for a Great Courses or UCI Open Courseware course by creating a proctored final.  Why recreate the course, when these courses have already been created?  Why not just create the means for evaluating mastery?

That already exists.  CLEP, DANTES, TECEP, etc.  OnlineDegree is trying to do something different, and it's exciting to see something other than another "go study, then come back and take a test".   

OnlineDegree.com is sort of the opposite of Modern States, which provides free coursework and study guides for pre-existing tests.  In my opinion, all experimenters are welcome and encouraged in this space, especially free and very inexpensive ones.

---

I just took the exams for the public health class and the economics class.  I scored a 78% on the econ. exam with an overall class grade of B-.  I scored a 57% on the public health exam for an overall grade of C.  I have mostly been playing the videos in the background and then marking complete as soon as the icon allows it.  This means that I have been watching about half to two-thirds of all videos.  I still received a full participation grade of 10%.  In both classes I ended up with about a B- average on the quizzes.  They drop the lowest two quizzes and that really makes a big difference in the final overall grade.  The final for the public health class was 40 questions.  The final for the econ. class was 46.  Both were really quick, especially considering there is no wait time for RPNow as opposed to ProctorU.  The econ. class required just a bit of math in my head, but I did not need or use a calculator or pencil/paper.  It was on the easier side of things in terms of econ. tests.  I am just about finished with the English education class and I'll post feedback on that in a couple of days.  That one is actually a pretty good class for understanding how language works.  I have learned a lot from it.

Congrats on completing these and thanks for the constructive feedback!

[allvia]

and you can't sit on the couch with your laptop on your lap when you do the exam  
which is stupid

I'm pretty sure you could challenge that since it is technically not disallowed by the standard proctoring rules on RPnow.

page 3 
http://www.softwaresecure.com/wp-content...amples.pdf 

unless I'm reading it wrong

I'm sure they don't want you sitting on a bed, couch or floor because they want you and the webcam in a stable and fixed location (that a table would provide and an actaul 'lap' would not)

[Merlin]

and you can't sit on the couch with your laptop on your lap when you do the exam  
which is stupid

I'm pretty sure you could challenge that since it is technically not disallowed by the standard proctoring rules on RPnow.

page 3 
http://www.softwaresecure.com/wp-content...amples.pdf 

unless I'm reading it wrong

Hmm, that rules violations examples page is new, or at least it wasn't available 7 months back when I first used RPnow. Would have been helpful when I was trying to figure out what was and wasn't allowed.

In any case, I'm pretty confident that the rule about only taking tests on a desk wasn't a thing back then. I know I took one of my first tests sitting on my bed and another one on my kitchen table and didn't get a violation for either one.

[MNomadic]

"I have heard you can stream some of the TGC+ videos through Amazon Prime but I can't confirm."

That's true prime has 50 or so subjects from guitar and film to excel and calculus for free. The other courses you have to pay per lesson or by a season.

I noticed my library just added access to The Great Courses through 7 day passes.

[eriehiker]

I have taken probably a dozen RPNow exams sitting on a chair or loveseat and never been flagged.

[tobyisking]

I just finished the Cooking class from OnlineDegree. I found it very well put together. Besides the videos being a little on the long side I would recommend this course.

[ISKBizz15]

How long did it take you to complete the course?