I signed up to take the Shmoop course in Modern European History. It is a solid course and more engaging than SL for sure. It too has chapter tests (10 of them, each worth 8% of the grade), and one final worth 20%. The quizzes are quite challenging unless you know the topics cold. Thus, it does require reading all the material, clicking all the links and watching all the videos.
I would say that it is about 3-4 hours per module to read, and an hour per chapter test. While the tests aren't proctored, it doesn't matter, the material is so specific to the course, that referring to other sites (googling, etc) wouldn't be of help. Best I can tell, you are allowed to review their own material - so tests are effectively open book. Even then - it is still not a cakewalk. About half the questions are so specific to the material, that it would be hard to pass the course if it wasn't open book (and in which case, I would steer clear). I would say it is harder than both Study.com and SL, but more engaging than both - and I'm learning more. As one of the other folks said, there are a few typos here and there, but otherwise seems good.
This is what they say about using other materials (and note the general tone of the course - which is funny). I highlighted the "except us" part, which is what I infer to mean it is open book.
"Can I access other information while taking a test?"
"Yes, you're sitting in front of a computer and could very easily open up Google and search away to answer the questions. But there are a few problems with that:
Anyone can edit Wikipedia.
Ditto Yahoo! Answers.
Oh, and it's considered cheating.
Seriously, don't trust those bozos on the internet (except us) and don't cheat. Not only is it uncool and preventing you from learning awesome stuff, but it's also against our honor code."
I would say that it is about 3-4 hours per module to read, and an hour per chapter test. While the tests aren't proctored, it doesn't matter, the material is so specific to the course, that referring to other sites (googling, etc) wouldn't be of help. Best I can tell, you are allowed to review their own material - so tests are effectively open book. Even then - it is still not a cakewalk. About half the questions are so specific to the material, that it would be hard to pass the course if it wasn't open book (and in which case, I would steer clear). I would say it is harder than both Study.com and SL, but more engaging than both - and I'm learning more. As one of the other folks said, there are a few typos here and there, but otherwise seems good.
This is what they say about using other materials (and note the general tone of the course - which is funny). I highlighted the "except us" part, which is what I infer to mean it is open book.
"Can I access other information while taking a test?"
"Yes, you're sitting in front of a computer and could very easily open up Google and search away to answer the questions. But there are a few problems with that:
Anyone can edit Wikipedia.
Ditto Yahoo! Answers.
Oh, and it's considered cheating.
Seriously, don't trust those bozos on the internet (except us) and don't cheat. Not only is it uncool and preventing you from learning awesome stuff, but it's also against our honor code."
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