Options for Flexible Studying at a University Level or Higher?

LSinful on 28/12/2016 - 01:00

Hi Guys.

Long time lurker here.
Could I please get your thoughts and opinions on any courses available that are really intensive, supportive and well structured.
Since I have a stable job, I have been thinking about doing a course(s) purely for the fun of it.
I currently work 5-7 days a week, I can cut back my weekend overtime for a once-a-week person-to-person lesson.
I did try an unrelated TAFE course earlier in the year and found pace a lot slower than university with no real drive or structured options to really push myself.

I didn't get high marks at uni, but passed my subjects easily.

I was thinking of learning Programming, Chemistry or Maths.
I tried programming numerous times, using books, youtube videos and websites… but without the support network and quick after-hours communication that universities offer, I found myself getting stuck and waiting for forum replies from the few helpful experts that volunteer their time on forums.

Thinking about it now, perhaps what I am after is an intensive and well structured course that I can get an anytime instant email response right away.
Money isn't an issue, just the quality of the package provided.

Charles Sturt University in Bathurst is a short drive, so I will call them up later too.
I want to know how you guys have gone with this type of learning. Could you please provide me with any of your recommendations or experiences (good or bad) to help me make an informed decision.

Thank you.

Education & Work

Comments

  • od810 on 28/12/2016 - 01:58

    Having a private tutor is probably too expensive. It's not very quick to pick up programming. It will take a bit of time. If I was you, I would go to do a degree in Uni. There are many aspects in programming that is not just about learning a language. You need to know Data Structures, Algorithms etc. If you find the pace of Uni too slow, you can always rely on online materials (edX, coursera). The key important things in programming is that you have to practice. Uni will give you assignments. If you are self-starter, think of a project and do it yourself (personal blog or whatever).

    Programming & Statistics are highly valued right now.

    Hope it help, and good luck with your decision.

  • bluesky on 28/12/2016 - 01:59
    +2

    I think this could be a well-structured beginner course into programming:
    Introduction to Computer Science and Programming from MIT.

    It provides lots of supportive material to facilitate independent study:

    A complete set of Lecture Videos by Prof. Guttag.
    Resources for each lecture video, such as Handouts, Slides, and Code Files.
    Recitation Videos by course TA's to review content and problem solving techniques.
    Homework problems with sample student solutions.
    Further Study collections of links to supplemental online content.
    Self-Assessment tools, including lecture questions with answers and unit quizzes with solutions, to assess your subject mastery.

    So hopefully, will not have the shortcomings you mentioned about the TAFE course you took earlier. Have a look anyway, nothing to lose since it is free. If you are doing this for fun, and the certificate at the end is not highly important, then this could be an ideal option. Good thing is, when you finish this course, you can do more advanced courses at the site, if you choose.
    The list here includes other more advanced programming/computer science courses offered. There is also a map of undergraduate MIT curriculum, so you know the pre-requisite relationships and what courses you can do next etc.

  • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2016 - 08:09
    +2

    I don't think anyone should choose computer programming as a course or career without first dabbling on the hobby side to see if they like it. There are $5-10 microcontroller experimenter boards with free or educational licence C compilers or the Java SDK for free is enough to see if you enjoy programming. If you do choose computer programming as a career, you will be around programmers who very happily program in their spare time for enjoyment. In internet technical forums, you can really tell the two types of people…those who enjoy it and those who are just looking for others to do their homework.

  • Sinful on 29/12/2016 - 19:52
    +1

    Thanks for your input guys, I really appreciate it. I will look into that online MIT course and also do a bit more research on which are the best distance ed universities.

    Thanks for your input guys.

    Edit: Yea, I have some micro controllers lying around, I will see what I can do with them in my free time. Thanks.

    • bluesky on 29/12/2016 - 20:11
      +1

      Wish you success. Cheers.

    • Icecold5000 on 14/01/2017 - 00:39

      I am doing business course at Deakin and have done psychology through UNE both online. Have also studied IT/programming on campus. The former are easy while the latter are hard and I wouldn't want to do them via distance ed. It is good to bounce ideas off people and find out how they solved problems.

      Macquarie to an external chem course http://handbook.mq.edu.au/2016/Units/UGUnit/CBMS101 which I have passed. Labs are cool and studying chem just through books is boring which I am doing now for gamsat. I think you can do a whole major through UNE as well.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/12/2016 - 20:18
    +1

    Ken Perlin is a bit of a fun genius and legend of computer science. He has won Academy Awards for academic aspects of movie graphics and his random Noise function is famous.

    His NY University homepage has a large number of fun Java applets. Most of this is more fun than commercial work, but it's a fun glimpse at programming and a lot of souce code is available.

    https://cs.nyu.edu/~perlin/

    • Sinful on 30/12/2016 - 20:32

      I am checking it out now, thank you.

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