Arduino and LEDs

Recently, I signed up for the An Introduction to Programming the Internet of Things (IOT) Specialization on Coursera.  Last month, I completed the The Arduino Platform and C Programming.  Currently I am working on Interfacing with the Arduino.

The Arduino Platform course was a little bit too generic as it mainly focused on Standard C.  The introduction to the Arduino coding environment and hardware was useful though. The big draw back is that there are no forums to post questions and get answers.  Most of the projects involved coding in C that could be done in any compiler. The final projected involved blinking the built in light on an Arduino board.  If you have some C experience and minimal to no Arduino experience, I give it 3 out of 5 thumbs up.

As I mentioned, the second course is the Interfacing course.  The final project involved adjusting the brightness of an LED using a potentiometer using the standard Arduino Servo library to adjust the LED itself.  This was pretty interesting project but technically it was kind of silly.  The PWM signals normally used to control a servo does not allow one to fully light or dim an LED.  Think Rube Goldberg.   

Vanderbilt's Android App Component MOOC

I just completed the Android App Components - Intents, Activities, and Broadcast Receivers MOOC taught by Vanderbilt University on Cousera.  Since I did pay $49 for the course, I'd like to share my thoughts.  

This is definitely a useful class.  I think if you plan to be an Android developer, its important to understand the intricacies of the architecture and structure of apps.  I was disappointed by the fact that there were no mandatory programming assignments.  Also, beyond the normal instructional videos, there were a lot of videos on code walk-throughs.  After a certain point my brain just shut down.

Will you learn how to program Android with this class alone? Absolutely not.  Will it explain how to app screens communicate with services and other screens? Yes.  Will you be able to implement real Android apps without other courses/education? No.

This class is part  of the Android App Development Specialization.  I think you need to take most of these classes before you can really start Android development.  Is this MOOC worth $49?  Yes, only if you plan to complete the whole specialization.

OBTW, I did find out that Udacity has an interesting single MOOC course on Android development. It would have probably made more sense to try that first before going down this more academic route.

Machine Learning For Cocktail Parties

I finally completed the MOOC from Columbia on Machine Learning for Data Science and Analytics and received my verified certificate.  I didn't mention this in my past post, but in the end I did decide to register for the verified course.  I was hoping it would improve.  As you can see, I think it was a total waste.  

This was by far THE worst and THE most expensive MOOC I've ever taken.  There was no math or any programming.  I did learn some information on interesting topics like genetics and depression etc but that's about it.  Nothing that was discussed about machine learning went beyond the superficial.  No a single formula on linear regression or logistic regression.  Not even a discussion on the differences between SVN or Neural Networks.  This was really a waste of my time.  I regret paying $99.   

Columbia Machine Learning MOOC Not Worth $99

In the past year, I've taken several MOOCs offered on both EdX an Coursera platforms.  I've been paying money to have my classes "verified" so I can obtain some shiny PDF certificates or Linked-In badges indicating that I actually completed a class.  My most recent class is the Columbia University's Machine Learning for Data Science and Analytics course on Edx.  In two days I need to decide if I want to shell out $99 to have this class "verified."  Unfortunately, this class is not worth it.

Let me explain.  To date, I've taken and paid for Georgia Tech's Computational Investing,   Columbia U's Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I, three data science courses from Johns Hopkins, MIT's Introduction to Computer Science using Python and Stanford's Machine Learning.  Every single course cost $49 or less.  The classes varied in length from 4 weeks to 10.  All had moderate to significant amounts of coding or hand-written calculations.  Basically, not only did you watch the lecture videos you had to do work to make sure you really understood the material. 

The Machine Learning class is really short, 5 weeks long, requires the least amount of assignment work and costs twice as much as the MIT Intro to Comp Sci course.  Not only that, the assignments are rather disjointed from the lecture material or requires only superficial understanding. There are quite a few complaints in the classes' discussion group about these gripes.   In contrast, the MIT course was 10 weeks long, required answering quiz questions and actual programming assignments.  When you completed the MIT class, you knew you learned something .... and it only cost $49!  

Sorry Columbia, I think I will keep my $99.