By Anne Raith, MindShift WQED
Professor Sebastian Thrun has given his lecture on artificial intelligence at Stanford University more than once. He knows that a lot of students are interested in his introductory course – almost 200 students have showed up in past years. But this fall, it will be different, even for him. There will be more than 100,000 students from all around the world who will listen to him – online. With its Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE) program, the university already offers some of its most popular engineering classes free of charge, video lectures, reading lists and other handouts included. But SEE was only the first step: This time students can follow and attend a class online and get a Statement of Accomplishment when they participate regularly. “But it will be tough,” professor Thrun warns. “I want to keep up our Stanford level. The students have to deal with linear algebra and probabilistic methods. And they have to be willing to work 10 to 15 hours a week, do their homework, and pass tests. We’ll have strict deadlines.”
http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/08/stanford-for-everyone-more-than-120000-enroll-in-free-classes/
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