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Originally Posted by Jen
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  |
I haven't tried getting into a science course at uni... and probably couldn't if I tried. I couldn't do math at that level under timed pressure because of dyslexia, means I do things extremely slowly--not good enough for exams. I had to forgo a science degree along with its many dreams, but these online courses were a godsend. I didn't get to do astronomy as part of my business/arts degree this time because I didn't have electives, or completed the physics pre-requisite courses. That didn't stop me from crashing the lectures though.
A bachelor degree in any field demonstrates your ability to handle the rigours of a traditional academic course which is why someone like Swinburne requires one. I don't know if I could have handled any of these online courses if I didn't go back to uni, even for a non-science degree. University is extremely good training when done right, which is why so many people do them and grads are sought after, even if they have a degree in Middle English Poetry or something. But with MOOCs popping up anywhere, they've become more accessible to someone who doesn't have a degree or isn't an undergrad.
You'll likely need calculus for most university-level courses, even for those that don't require it, it's useful. I'm supposed to know this stuff, got passing grades and all but I was so terrible at it that I don't trust myself with it.
The online certificates from Coursera and edX are good enough to put on your CV or LinkedIn profile, and they are verifiable (depending on the university). With a lot of universities doing distance learning I think these will become more widely accepted. I know there's a website/service that allows you to demonstrate your knowledge you've gained from these courses but for the life of me I can't remember what it's called. It basically helps lend weight to these MOOCs. You attach your essays and assignments that you used in the course to show that you did learn something and can apply it.
Like in real brick and mortar schools, MOOCs have a large variation in quality, so shop around. Unlike traditional classes, you don't have to pay much, if at all, and there's fewer consequences of quitting halfway if you don't like it.
it makes for easy listening, although I have to listen to each lecture twoce because of the elephants (kids) running around the house. This is done with a Wi-Fi connection, but I don't know where to download them. There was mention of iTunes in the first two segments, but is that compatible with Android? 
