Model Thinking class

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I've been talking about my Model Thinking class.

I've said that I think it's cool that so many people from all over are signed up for the class.

On the 19th, we got a general email about the class, which said that "nearly 89,000" people are signed up for the class.  !!!!!

One of my classmates set up a Google map.  All of us who choose to do so can locate ourselves on the map.  I tried to link to the active map, but it insists on showing a closeup of the Indian coastline, rather than the whole world, so here is a screen capture from the 18th.  (As always, click on the image to embiggen.)

It makes this experience richer, for me, knowing that my classmates are scattered all over the planet........  As one person said, learning things about each other "turns strangers into class mates."


Lots of the people taking the class are clever and funny.

Here are a few snippets of conversations from the discussion fora:

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"I was just looking through the forum and the general discussion. It strikes me how many threads there are about where everyone is from and how there are so many discussion groups based on home country and nationality. To me that's neither good nor bad, but remarkable. Remarkable because it doesn't seem relevant, right now, in this context.

"Does anyone know what I mean?

"Cheers, A
"Anna D"

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"It is the equivalent of small talk at a party. Totally pointless, but passes the time and it is considered anti-social if you don't participate. People are supposed to be actively engaged in the course and that is the easiest point of entry for engagement. I used to teach online graduate courses with 100 + students per class from around the world and we'd ask students to give their bios, use a chat line, and other such nonsense so they start to feel part of a community and start to participate. I've always thought it silly, but you would have had this kind of interaction with your peers if you were in a conventional (in-person) class and they're trying to re-create the experience to help keep people participating. Basic social marketing principle that if you get somebody to commit a little time (even something mindless) then they're more likely to continue to commit time as doing so has become consistent with how they think of themselves.
"Nathan G"

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"Never thought about it that way, Nathan. Interesting... will remember to ask people where they are from when I need them to do something next time ;)
"Anna D"

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Topic:  Do we really have to read the recommended readings?

"Hello. the title can be missunderstood, i say it in a curious way. i always like to have some extra material to read and learn and etc. But also i like to read it later, it means after i complete the course like some support or complementary material after the goal is reached. Having said that...

"i would like to know if anyone has already read the first pdf from the Syllabus The Model Thinker: Prologue, Introduction and Chapter 1

"i've read the other pdf which is shorter with only 5 pages, but the forementioned is 32 pages!

"It would be a bad use of time if i spend maybe a couple of hours reading that and later realize that i didn't need it to red it on that moment.
"Danilo J"   

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"Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

"Alice: I don't much care where."

"The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go."

"Alice: So long as I get somewhere."

"The Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough."

"(Quotes from Alice in Wonderland)

"If you are worried about the final exam, check the relevant thread for an answer (when it comes up). In that case you could also have just upvoted that question.

"If you are not worried about the exam, my take is that whether you read it now or later does not matter that much (unless you have to discuss Schelling or Granovetter in the meantime). Personally, I tend to try to read stuff before the lecture and see if it enhances my lecture experience. In this case, I thought it kind of spoiled it, because Scott E. does not go much beyond the readings. So personally I think that reading them after the lecture will suit me better. But that is a personal choice.
"Christoph S"

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Topic:   Clarification on Quizzes

"So, as I understand it, we have to do each quiz before the time limit. We have to answer the questions. We can do each quiz as many times as we like.

"And as long as we complete each quiz and the exam at least one time, whether our answers are perfectly correct or every single answer is completely wrong, we get a certificate at the end of the class.
"Anne P"

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"Exactly right!
"Thomas H (Staff)"

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"Thanks for the clarification.
"Anne P"

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"Thomas, I am confused, as presently there are 5 tries for quiz 1, so it's not limitless to begin with. Also, this is the first Coursera course where there is no cutoff score for getting a certificate, as I gather from your reply.

"If you truly issue a certificate to anyone, that's, I have to say, is disappointing. Yes, we all understand that it's just a PDF file, but we like to think it's a PDF file we earned. Please don't turn into Udacity. Have the usual 70% cutoff limit - with 5 non-penalized tries for each quiz everyone will make it anyway. Please don't rob us of the ability to pretend we go to a real school.
"Anonymous"

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"Anonymous: Everyone can choose between pretending and not pretending. If you wanna feel like going to real school then don't use material during the tests, try only once and try to reach 70% at least.

"The upper are my goals. If I complete those, I'll be happy and I'll feel I will have completed this class with the given expectations towards myself :)
"Antal G"

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"Interesting approach. That works too, but many Universities top tier included do have some open book tests for technical classes:) Good input though, Antal.
"Jacob"

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"I was thinking of doing a model to determine whether or not it would be worth my time to do the quiz. Then I thought, what would it be worth to me if someone just gave me the answers? Then I thought, if I just do the quiz, I could be a model student. Finally, I thought, what would it be worth to me to be a model student. This led to an endless loop, which I ultimately resolved with the toss of a coin.

"Just a bit of model humor. I am enjoying the lectures, they're very well done.
"Anonymous"


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