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| The online version of 2.002 offers video lectures searchable by keyword, and organized as a tree of basic concepts that branch into related subtopics. |
mit | Jasmine Chan’s course schedule this semester would suggest that the MIT sophomore is more than a little overbooked.
Chan,
a mechanical engineering major, is taking two classes that meet at
exactly the same time. Despite this apparent scheduling snafu, she
hasn’t missed a single lecture in either course — and her approach to
juggling the conflicting courses may represent the future of ambitious
academic scheduling.
Chan is one of 11 students this semester
who are participating in i2.002, a new online version of 2.002
(Mechanics and Materials II), a core requirement in mechanical
engineering. The online course features videotaped lectures from 2.002,
as well as recitations and a discussion forum that are similar to
elements of edX, MIT’s OpenCourseWare, and other massive open online
course (MOOC) platforms.
What may set i2.002 apart is its ease
of searching: Search a key word or concept, and a video will start at
exactly the moment in a lecture when that concept is introduced.
“It’s
like Googling your class,” says Ken Kamrin, the Class of 1956 Career
Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “It’s a
clickable, searchable index of videos … something that might be
considered as part of the next generation of textbooks.”
“These
are exciting times for online education,” says Pedro Reis, the Esther
and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. “There’s huge momentum at the
moment for developing technology, through edX and other MOOC platforms,
to deploy to a very large number of students. We’re saying, ‘Let’s take
that approach and apply it to benefit our own students.’” Fist tap Dale.
