05-19-2021, 05:53 PM
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: CIS 105: Computer Applications and Information Technology
Course content: Generally the standard ASU ULC format, with lecture videos, long readings, Cerego flashcards, and weekly quizzes. Two exams, each covering about half of the course. Optional discussions and live sessions. No written assignments.
Final exam format: 40 Multiple choice or true/false questions, proctored.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: The proctored final covered the last half of the course, partially sharing the quiz and Cerego question pool. A vague study guide was provided.
Time taken on course: About 1-2 hours/week for 7.5 weeks
Familiarity with subject before course: Very high with the business and technology portions, minimal with the spreadsheet or cognitive bias components.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: This course covers three loosely related topics: How businesses can leverage technology, cognitive biases that impact decision making, and spreadsheets. All three are mixed in each week.
You don't actually have to make or use any spreadsheets yourself. All you need to know is the basic Excel formulas covered each week. There is a formulas list provided summarizing everything.
Due to the rapid evolution of technology, some readings and lectures are already quite stale.
The professor appearing in most of the lecture videos died a year ago, but ASU continues to use those videos.
1-10 Difficulty level: 2
Final grade: High A
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: FSE 100: Introduction to Engineering: Imagine. Design. Discover!
Only worth two 100-level credits, despite the huge time and effort commitment. This course has a particularly poor credit to time/effort/stress ratio.
Course content: Short lectures, Cerego flashcards, numerous written and multimedia assignments, digital portfolio, and a cumulative final exam. 85% of your grade is from the projects and portfolio. Optional discussions and live sessions, which may be helpful.
Final exam format: About 50 questions, proctored. Includes several more challening selection-type questions alongside multiple choice and true/false. Unfortunately, you are virtually guaranteed to get some of these wrong because the grading is configured as all-or-nothing. Also, watch out for the answer position shuffling, even on the true/false questions.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: There is a helpful study guide which outlines what you will need to know. Lots of overlap with the Cerego flashcards.
Time taken on course: 5-10+ hours per week for 14.5 weeks. Almost all of that time is spent on the projects, there are typically less than an hour of lectures weekly.
Familiarity with subject before course: I'm a huge engineering/infrastructure nerd, but have not previously taken any formal college-level courses in this area.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: I really wanted to enjoy this course. The description made it sound like a fun exploration of introductory engineering skills. However, I found that the inadequate execution and faciliation turned this into a stressful experience. Poor communication by the course team made things even worse.
During this course, you'll gradually complete two major projects. Every week, you complete one aspect of the final deliverable. Consequently, if you inadvertently select a poor topic, get off to a bad start, or do something incorrectly, you're SOL.
The projects take a ton of time and effort to figure out what to do and how to do it. Course lectures only provide brief introductions to each topic, then expect you to do everything on your own. Fully satisfying the expectations of the course team is nearly impossible, because they don't fully explain what they are asking for or how to do certain things.
There is also a bug with the edX platform used by ASU that may result in the system submittng an empty assignment. When this happened, the course staff didn't show any sympathy at all. Always click the file you've uploaded to check it before clicking the submit button!
1-10 Difficulty level: 7 - You'll need to have quite a bit of time and energy available to devote to this course. Also important is experience with written projects and open-ended assignments.
Really, I don't know how anyone would achieve an A grade in this class.
Final grade: Abandoned halfway through, did not complete. I reached the second project but was unable to figure out what to do and ran out of time.
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: FSE 150: Perspectives on Grand Challenges for Engineering
Course content: This course examines how engineering can be used to address global problems. Be prepared to encounter the phrase "sustainable solutions" a few hundred times.
This is the only ASU ULC course I am aware of that is 100% written. Every single point requires you to write something. There are no quizzes, exams, or flashcards. Every week contains some lectures, readings, and documentaries, along with various interactives, videos, and other resources for written assignments, projects, and discussions. There's also a digital portfolio website you'll build throughout the course.
Final project format: You submit your final digital portfolio link, along with a digital poster showcasing your future solutions project. Essentially just copy and paste elements from your weekly assignments to the poster, and edit as needed for space/formatting.
Time taken on course: About 5-6 hours per week for 8 weeks.
Familiarity with subject before course: Very high. I'm quite interested in engineering and sustainability, even though I had not taken a related college course before.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: The assignments and disscussions are often interdependent. Before actually starting to work through a week, skim through everything first.
As with the other ASU ULC courses that utilize Yellowdig graded discussions, it's possible to earn full points without necessarily participating in every single prompt. Max out the weekly points early on in the course so that you can strategically skip some of the later items.
Each week contains a handful of informal self-assessed written activities. Just use the rubric as a punch list to bang out a few paragraphs, then you can legitimately grade yourself 100% on those.
The big Future Solutions Project that you will work on each week expects you to be familiar with concepts introduced in FSE 100, specifically the engineering design process and IEEE formatting. These aren't really covered by FSE 150, but required by the assignments. Problem is, FSE 100 and FSE 150 are normally only offered once annually, starting at the same time. Also, FSE 100 is not a great course. At a minimum, you'll want to signup to audit FSE100.
Each week of FSE 150 contains several hours of ted-talk style videos explaining the weekly topic and current related research. You really do not have to watch these videos in their entirety. At the minimum, watch enough to understand the topic. The weekly portfolio assignments also require you to write a paragraph explaining what you found the most interesting and/or surprising from these talks.
Overalll, I thought that this was a fun and interesting course.
1-10 Difficulty level: 5. Churning out the required writing can be intimidting, but is doable.
Final grade: High A
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: PAF 112: Identity, Service and American Democracy
Formerly CPP 112
Course content: Lecture videos, long readings, and weekly quizzes. No flashcards or exams. There is a digital portfolio assignment for each module, and a final paper. Optional but helpful discussions. The optional live sessions are very helpful. In particular, the second session guides you through the final paper in explicit detail.
Final paper format: About 1000 words, APA 7 formatting. You perform a case study on an organization using themes from the course. At least three citations must be used, at least one of which must be from the course materials.
Time taken on course: 2-5 hours per week, 8 weeks.
There are only five modules spread across the eight weeks. Some modules give you two weeks.
Familiarity with subject before course: Very high. I read a lot about politics and social organizations. I previously completed ASU Sociology, which provided helpful background knowledge.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: This is a fun and low-stress course that takes a different perspective on civics. It examines how people and organizations civically engage to build American Democracy and society.
Don't leave the digital portfolio assignments for the last second. A few of them require you to complete tasks that require some preplanning, such as conducting a site visit or interview.
Helplfully, this course provides several example submissions from past students for each of the eportfolio assignments and the final paper. If you're lost, just refer back to those.
1-10 Difficulty level: 2. As long as you don't stress about the writing, this is a very straightforward course.
Final grade: High A
Course: CIS 105: Computer Applications and Information Technology
Course content: Generally the standard ASU ULC format, with lecture videos, long readings, Cerego flashcards, and weekly quizzes. Two exams, each covering about half of the course. Optional discussions and live sessions. No written assignments.
Final exam format: 40 Multiple choice or true/false questions, proctored.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: The proctored final covered the last half of the course, partially sharing the quiz and Cerego question pool. A vague study guide was provided.
Time taken on course: About 1-2 hours/week for 7.5 weeks
Familiarity with subject before course: Very high with the business and technology portions, minimal with the spreadsheet or cognitive bias components.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: This course covers three loosely related topics: How businesses can leverage technology, cognitive biases that impact decision making, and spreadsheets. All three are mixed in each week.
You don't actually have to make or use any spreadsheets yourself. All you need to know is the basic Excel formulas covered each week. There is a formulas list provided summarizing everything.
Due to the rapid evolution of technology, some readings and lectures are already quite stale.
The professor appearing in most of the lecture videos died a year ago, but ASU continues to use those videos.
1-10 Difficulty level: 2
Final grade: High A
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: FSE 100: Introduction to Engineering: Imagine. Design. Discover!
Only worth two 100-level credits, despite the huge time and effort commitment. This course has a particularly poor credit to time/effort/stress ratio.
Course content: Short lectures, Cerego flashcards, numerous written and multimedia assignments, digital portfolio, and a cumulative final exam. 85% of your grade is from the projects and portfolio. Optional discussions and live sessions, which may be helpful.
Final exam format: About 50 questions, proctored. Includes several more challening selection-type questions alongside multiple choice and true/false. Unfortunately, you are virtually guaranteed to get some of these wrong because the grading is configured as all-or-nothing. Also, watch out for the answer position shuffling, even on the true/false questions.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: There is a helpful study guide which outlines what you will need to know. Lots of overlap with the Cerego flashcards.
Time taken on course: 5-10+ hours per week for 14.5 weeks. Almost all of that time is spent on the projects, there are typically less than an hour of lectures weekly.
Familiarity with subject before course: I'm a huge engineering/infrastructure nerd, but have not previously taken any formal college-level courses in this area.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: I really wanted to enjoy this course. The description made it sound like a fun exploration of introductory engineering skills. However, I found that the inadequate execution and faciliation turned this into a stressful experience. Poor communication by the course team made things even worse.
During this course, you'll gradually complete two major projects. Every week, you complete one aspect of the final deliverable. Consequently, if you inadvertently select a poor topic, get off to a bad start, or do something incorrectly, you're SOL.
The projects take a ton of time and effort to figure out what to do and how to do it. Course lectures only provide brief introductions to each topic, then expect you to do everything on your own. Fully satisfying the expectations of the course team is nearly impossible, because they don't fully explain what they are asking for or how to do certain things.
There is also a bug with the edX platform used by ASU that may result in the system submittng an empty assignment. When this happened, the course staff didn't show any sympathy at all. Always click the file you've uploaded to check it before clicking the submit button!
1-10 Difficulty level: 7 - You'll need to have quite a bit of time and energy available to devote to this course. Also important is experience with written projects and open-ended assignments.
Really, I don't know how anyone would achieve an A grade in this class.
Final grade: Abandoned halfway through, did not complete. I reached the second project but was unable to figure out what to do and ran out of time.
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: FSE 150: Perspectives on Grand Challenges for Engineering
Course content: This course examines how engineering can be used to address global problems. Be prepared to encounter the phrase "sustainable solutions" a few hundred times.
This is the only ASU ULC course I am aware of that is 100% written. Every single point requires you to write something. There are no quizzes, exams, or flashcards. Every week contains some lectures, readings, and documentaries, along with various interactives, videos, and other resources for written assignments, projects, and discussions. There's also a digital portfolio website you'll build throughout the course.
Final project format: You submit your final digital portfolio link, along with a digital poster showcasing your future solutions project. Essentially just copy and paste elements from your weekly assignments to the poster, and edit as needed for space/formatting.
Time taken on course: About 5-6 hours per week for 8 weeks.
Familiarity with subject before course: Very high. I'm quite interested in engineering and sustainability, even though I had not taken a related college course before.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: The assignments and disscussions are often interdependent. Before actually starting to work through a week, skim through everything first.
As with the other ASU ULC courses that utilize Yellowdig graded discussions, it's possible to earn full points without necessarily participating in every single prompt. Max out the weekly points early on in the course so that you can strategically skip some of the later items.
Each week contains a handful of informal self-assessed written activities. Just use the rubric as a punch list to bang out a few paragraphs, then you can legitimately grade yourself 100% on those.
The big Future Solutions Project that you will work on each week expects you to be familiar with concepts introduced in FSE 100, specifically the engineering design process and IEEE formatting. These aren't really covered by FSE 150, but required by the assignments. Problem is, FSE 100 and FSE 150 are normally only offered once annually, starting at the same time. Also, FSE 100 is not a great course. At a minimum, you'll want to signup to audit FSE100.
Each week of FSE 150 contains several hours of ted-talk style videos explaining the weekly topic and current related research. You really do not have to watch these videos in their entirety. At the minimum, watch enough to understand the topic. The weekly portfolio assignments also require you to write a paragraph explaining what you found the most interesting and/or surprising from these talks.
Overalll, I thought that this was a fun and interesting course.
1-10 Difficulty level: 5. Churning out the required writing can be intimidting, but is doable.
Final grade: High A
Provider: ASU Universal Learner Courses
Course: PAF 112: Identity, Service and American Democracy
Formerly CPP 112
Course content: Lecture videos, long readings, and weekly quizzes. No flashcards or exams. There is a digital portfolio assignment for each module, and a final paper. Optional but helpful discussions. The optional live sessions are very helpful. In particular, the second session guides you through the final paper in explicit detail.
Final paper format: About 1000 words, APA 7 formatting. You perform a case study on an organization using themes from the course. At least three citations must be used, at least one of which must be from the course materials.
Time taken on course: 2-5 hours per week, 8 weeks.
There are only five modules spread across the eight weeks. Some modules give you two weeks.
Familiarity with subject before course: Very high. I read a lot about politics and social organizations. I previously completed ASU Sociology, which provided helpful background knowledge.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: This is a fun and low-stress course that takes a different perspective on civics. It examines how people and organizations civically engage to build American Democracy and society.
Don't leave the digital portfolio assignments for the last second. A few of them require you to complete tasks that require some preplanning, such as conducting a site visit or interview.
Helplfully, this course provides several example submissions from past students for each of the eportfolio assignments and the final paper. If you're lost, just refer back to those.
1-10 Difficulty level: 2. As long as you don't stress about the writing, this is a very straightforward course.
Final grade: High A
TESU Class of 2024 BSBA-CIS+GM, BSIT, ASNSM-CS+Math, AAS-GEN
Earned credits from Sophia, SDC, ASU ULC, TEEX, Microsoft, Strayer, TESU, Saylor, DSST, CLEP, CompTIA, StraighterLine, and others since starting in April 2020
Earned credits from Sophia, SDC, ASU ULC, TEEX, Microsoft, Strayer, TESU, Saylor, DSST, CLEP, CompTIA, StraighterLine, and others since starting in April 2020
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