On-line astronomy courses

ChrisM · #1 28-02-2016, 10:00 PM

Does anyone have experience with any on-line astronomy courses? I know that this is a wide field, but it's always good to get first-hand feedback.

Cheers, Chris

tempestwizz (Brian) · #2 01-03-2016, 01:19 AM

There's some uni level astronomy podcasts for free developed by a Richard Pogge from Ohio State university. Have been available for a number of years. Course numbers 161 and 162 from memory. Google will find them.

TheCrazedLog · #3 01-03-2016, 08:50 AM

I found this course to be fascinating: https://www.coursera.org/course/introastro

I don't know whether this is the level you're looking for though. There's some interesting looking stuff on Coursera.

JimsShed (Jim) · #4 01-03-2016, 06:42 PM

If you're just after knowledge, rather than a qualification, and like me do a lot of commuting to work, then check out the audio lectures available on audible.com.au. I'm a subscriber and you get to download and listen to full lecture series on all matter of topics. I particularly go for those published by TheGreatCourses. All manner of things from particle physics to exoplanets. Typically 10~12 hour lecture series by those at the forefront of their field.

pfitzgerald (Paul) · #5 01-03-2016, 07:56 PM

Hi Chris

I completed one of the ANU units (The violent universe) back in late 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Some mathematics was required but their supporting videos and worked examples help you through the 'worst' of it. When time permits I'll have a go at the other two.

https://www.edx.org/school/anux

HTH

Paul

ChrisM · #6 01-03-2016, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfitzgerald

Hi Chris

I completed one of the ANU units (The violent universe) back in late 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Some mathematics was required but their supporting videos and worked examples help you through the 'worst' of it. When time permits I'll have a go at the other two.

https://www.edx.org/school/anux

HTH

Paul

Thanks very much Paul. I had not heard of this series and a quick look at the intro material on the website indicates that it should be very good.

Cheers, Chris

pfitzgerald (Paul) · #7 01-03-2016, 10:01 PM

You're welcome Chris - it's an excellent series and a home grown product too boot. I hope that you enjoy the course.
Paul

ChrisM · #8 01-03-2016, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimsShed

If you're just after knowledge, rather than a qualification, and like me do a lot of commuting to work, then check out the audio lectures available on audible.com.au. I'm a subscriber and you get to download and listen to full lecture series on all matter of topics. I particularly go for those published by TheGreatCourses. All manner of things from particle physics to exoplanets. Typically 10~12 hour lecture series by those at the forefront of their field.

Thanks Jim. Looks to be a very wide selection covering all manner of everything, but a monthly cost of course to subscribe.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers, Chris

ChrisM · #9 01-03-2016, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCrazedLog

I found this course to be fascinating: https://www.coursera.org/course/introastro

I don't know whether this is the level you're looking for though. There's some interesting looking stuff on Coursera.

Thanks for that suggestion. It seems to be a course run remotely from Duke University in the USA via about 3 hours of video per week with assignments, culminating in a certificate of attainment.

I am actually compiling a bit of a list of some of the course types, with examples, that are available from various places - so not necessarily for my own use.

Cheers, Chris

ChrisM · #10 01-03-2016, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempestwizz

There's some uni level astronomy podcasts for free developed by a Richard Pogge from Ohio State university. Have been available for a number of years. Course numbers 161 and 162 from memory. Google will find them.

Thanks Brian, I listened to a sample podcast and found that an interesting way to get the material - although no visuals of course. Certainly lots of podcasts in the series.

Cheers, Chris

lazjen (Chris) · #11 02-03-2016, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisM

Thanks for that suggestion. It seems to be a course run remotely from Duke University in the USA via about 3 hours of video per week with assignments, culminating in a certificate of attainment.

I am actually compiling a bit of a list of some of the course types, with examples, that are available from various places - so not necessarily for my own use.

Cheers, Chris

I did this course a couple of years ago and it was good. You need reasonable math skills to succeed. I think the course quotes 6 hrs/week and you'll probably need at least that.

lup · #12 02-03-2016, 01:08 PM

the great courses are good and you can buy them outright from them directly, hence no subscription. ive a few of the dvd courses including the astronomy course. buy them on sale though unless you like bleeding money.

kittenshark (Cheryl-Ann Tan) · #13 03-03-2016, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazjen

I did this course a couple of years ago and it was good. You need reasonable math skills to succeed. I think the course quotes 6 hrs/week and you'll probably need at least that.

I think this was one of the most challenging, but most fulfilling online courses I've ever did! it's very involved but you'll learn a lot. Highly, highly recommended.

You'll only need high school algebra but it will take awhile to get back into that gear for some people (like me).

However... I just got this email today from Intro to Astro on Coursera:

Quote:

Dear IntroAstro alumni,
If you are reading this you were part of one of the three sessions of IntroAstro on Coursera. I want to thank you again for taking part in this exciting experiment in learning. I'm writing you today to provide an important update and to ask you to help me out.

The update is that I have sadly decided not to offer the class through Coursera again. As you may know, Coursera is moving to a new platform and a new on-demand format for courses. I can see many advantages of this new format but in my opinion it is ill-suited for our particular class. I feel strongly that in IntroAstro having a cohort of students working through the material in concert, all concentrating on one week of material and assignments at a time, fostered the kind of interactions on the forums that were one of the main strengths of the course. It also allowed a level of interaction between students and course staff that I fear would not be possible in the new format. I may be wrong here, but it was my decision to take.

I am very grateful to Coursera and to all of you for having made these three sessions possible, it was a wonderful experience for me and one I could not have imagined ten years ago. We live in exciting times. As the rapidly-changing field of online education develops I will continue to follow with interest, and if I feel I have an opportunity to make a contribution I may well be tempted to try again, because IntroAstro with you was so much fun!

As part of the transition to the new platform, the old one is being shut down. At the end of each session, we promised to keep the course site open as long as we could. This period is now at an end. Your ability to actively interact with the sites will terminate at the end of March, 2016. The site will be completely shut down later, probably sometime in June, 2016. As I promised, I am writing to give you a chance to download any materials you wish to keep.

You also have one last quick chance to exchange final messages on the forums with people you met in the course with whom you'd like to stay in touch, etc. If you have opinions on the format change (many of you doubtless know more about it than I do) I'd be interested to read them there as well. If you want to contact me after the class is over you can use the email address introastro2012@gmail.com .

Before the site shuts down, I also want to ask you to help me out. One of the exciting aspects of these new teaching tools is that they can be used to learn about how students learn and how we can better teach. The site maintains records of student activity at a level of detail that has never before been possible. The possibilities are intriguing and professionals in education research are working to learn how to use the wealth of newly available data. With a former student here, I am pursuing an initial attempt at this. We will be using data from the course, naturally stripped of identifying information. You can help us out by filling out a short survey you can access at https://class.coursera.org/introastr...rt?quiz_id=673. Your participation is of course completely voluntary, if you can take the time to do this I'll be grateful.

Thanks for everything,

ronen

janoskiss (Steve H) · #14 03-03-2016, 05:41 PM

I highly recommend doing the full edX/ANUx Astrophysics series. It's well worth it. The only one I haven't done yet is Exoplanets. But I can vouch for

* Astrophysics: The Violent Universe; See Violent Universe intro video
* Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe; See Greatest Mysteries intro video
* Astrophysics: Cosmology; See Cosmology intro video

The Cosmology one is a ripper, but you'll get more out of it if you do the other two first (or at least The Violent Universe), which are also fascinating in their own right. (Expoplanets is more of a specialised area and you could skip it.) Violent Universe just went live again on 1st of March, and it's not too late to join in.

These courses are fairly gentle on the maths compared with other uni physics courses (designed so that year 10+ high school students could follow them). Whatever you need to know is explained clearly as you go by Prof Paul Francis and Physics Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt (of dark energy discovery fame). And even if your high school maths/physics is rusty, there is plenty of help on the forums. Paul Francis goes out of his way to answer everyone's questions, especially in relation to the lessons, exercises and homework problem sets. There will also be other students who already have solid maths and physics backgrounds and are willing to help.

The courses are very well constructed and entertainingly presented. I don't believe there is anything else out there that comes close or takes you as deep at this introductory level. The pace is leisurely: you need to invest only a few hours a week.

(FYI: I am giving you an educated opinion as a physicist who teaches uni level physics, including first year astronomy and honours level quantum mechanics. I keep a close eye on what's happening in the world of online learning; something that I also participate in on all levels: as student, tutor, instructor and course coordinator. I have no affiliation with ANU though or any reason to promote their online courses other than the fact that they are excellent.)

ChrisM · #15 04-03-2016, 10:37 PM

Thanks also Chris, lup, Cheryl-Ann and Steve. As I said in the OP it's always good to get first-hand feedback. I'm going to look into a few of them some more.

I've heard a little about the Swinburne and JCU on-line courses and will research them but I suspect that they both involve a significant commitment.
Chris

janoskiss (Steve H) · #16 05-03-2016, 06:09 AM

For a more casual and very accessible but still rigorous (not dumbed down) stroll through cosmology and astrophysics I can thoroughly recommend youtube channel PBS Space Time. See, e.g.,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPStj2ZuXug

ChrisM · #17 05-03-2016, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janoskiss

For a more casual and very accessible but still rigorous (not dumbed down) stroll through cosmology and astrophysics I can thoroughly recommend youtube channel PBS Space Time. See, e.g.,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPStj2ZuXug

Thanks Steve, that guy is impressive. Clearly spoken and not too fast with the theory etc. Definitely worth a proper look.
Chris

Jen · #18 09-04-2016, 04:25 AM

Hi guys I was just about to start a thread about studying astronomy and I just found this thread Woohooo good timing 😜😜

I am also very keen on going to Uni or doing an online course in Astronomy I have recently been throwing emails back and forth with Swinburne and apparently I can't get into this course unless I have a bachelor degree 😡😡 or three years equivalent of hands on astronomy experience / problem solving etc 😢😢 I havnt been to school for 20years, and because I was a bit of a party animal I only completed year 11 so my maths will be my biggest downfall 🤔 So I'm not sure how I can prove this unless I do up a port folio of all my images so far and do an essay on each of them 🤔🤔 and get all my awesome Astro buddies write something up for me saying how awesome and crazy I am lol lol
So what's more annoying is that someone that has a bachelor degree in drama can walk straight into this course but someone like me who is very passionate about this hobby can't get in which really sux 😳😳
So any good tips on the best way to go to get a few nice certificates to put on my observatory wall would be awesome

Malcolm · #19 09-04-2016, 07:18 AM

Jen. Have a look at https://www.open2study.com/courses/a...and-technology
Course starts April 25th.

MichaelSW (Michael) · #20 09-04-2016, 08:59 AM

Gresham College London provides free lectures to the public on a broad range of topics. In the SCIENCE section there are many on ASTRONOMY. The lectures are not aimed at scientists. I particularly enjoyed the lecture series by the previous Gresham Professor of Astronomy, Carolin Crawford.

Lectures can be watched on-line / downloaded.

http://www.gresham.ac.uk