| Your OpenCourseWare Newsletter | August 2024 |
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| What it Means to Open Learning |
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| Senior Associate Dean Christopher Capozzola discusses what it means to open learning (Image by MIT Open Learning) |
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MIT OpenCourseWare shares the mission of MIT Open Learning, of which we are part, to transform teaching and learning at MIT and around the world. The open educational resources that we have provided for over two decades have supported that mission through their positive impact on millions of learners and educators each year.
To kick off this newsletter, listen to our senior associate dean for Open Learning, Christopher Capozzola, share the impact of these free MIT resources and what it means to “open learning.” |
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Read on for a unique learner story that illustrates the power of opening knowledge beyond the university, notes on the final episodes from Season 5 of our Chalk Radio podcast on inspired teaching, and new course publications and enhanced content. We also have free course materials from MIT’s Nobel laureates to share, and which we find inspiring.
Wherever you are on your own learning journey, we thank you for using MIT OpenCourseWare! |
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| That's a Wrap! Season 5 of Chalk Radio |
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| In episode 9 of Chalk Radio, Prof. Joshua Bennett discusses “Living Poetry” (Image by MIT OpenCourseWare) |
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| Season 5 of Chalk Radio, MIT OpenCourseWare’s podcast about inspired teaching, has included a number of unusually in-depth episodes, as we’ve experimented with long-form interviews. The season’s final two installments, released earlier this summer, are equally substantial. In episode 8, we meet Prof. Rebecca Saxe, who speaks candidly about the challenges facing her field (cognitive neuroscience) and about her efforts to promote a new approach to how scientists “do” science. And in episode 9, host Sarah Hansen talks with poet/professor Joshua Bennett in a wide-ranging and heartfelt conversation about where poetry comes from, what it does for us, and how it can deepen our connection to other people. |
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| MIT OpenCourseWare "changed how I think about teaching and what a university is" |
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| Photo courtesy of Bernardo Picão |
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Bernardo Picão, a graduate student in quantum chromodynamics at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, is the subject of an in-depth profile in this recent MIT News article.
Picão first encountered MIT OpenCourseWare as a teenager, when he was browsing for videos on YouTube and he discovered that he could watch MIT lectures for free online. In the years since then, he has used open educational resources from MIT OpenCourseWare to explore topics as diverse as linear algebra, metaphysics, quantum field theory, and English.
He describes having recently attended a lecture in Lisbon given by Krishna Rajagopal, the William A. M. Burden Professor of Physics at MIT and former dean for digital learning at MIT Open Learning. Having first seen Prof. Rajagopal in an MIT OpenCourseWare lecture video, Picão seized the opportunity to thank him in person for his and MIT’s commitment to open education.
“People may find OpenCourseWare and think it is too good to be true,” says Picão. “Why would such a prestigious institution break down the barriers to scientific education and commit to open-access, free resources? I want people to know: There is no catch. Sharing is the point.” |
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| Nikola Tesla works in his laboratory on electricity experiments. The primary function of power electronic circuits is the processing and control of electrical energy. (Image is in the public domain) |
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| Science, Technology, Engineering, Math |
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6.622 Power Electronics
Modern civilization depends on a reliable supply of electricity, and providing that electricity depends on carefully engineered systems. This graduate-level course covers the technology by which electrical power is supplied, including modeling, analysis, design, control, and application of circuits for energy conversion and control. By watching the series of full lecture videos and working through the course’s other rich materials such as weekly problem sets and assessments, you can gain an understanding of the fundamental principles of power electronics, and knowledge of how to both analyze and design power electronic components and systems.
18.225 Graph Theory and Additive Combinatorics
This course looks at classical and modern developments in the fields of graph theory and additive combinatorics. Although it is largely divided into two parts, focusing on graph theory in the first half of the semester and additive combinatorics in the second, the lectures throughout the course (represented here by a full set of videos from the 2019 version of the course, as well as by updated lecture notes extracted from Prof. Zhao’s own recently-published textbook) emphasize the interactions between the two topics and highlight their common themes. The course also introduces students to current research topics and open problems.
18.226 Probabilistic Methods in Combinatorics
If you’re hungry for still more combinatorics after having worked your way through 18.225, we have just what you need. This course, which focuses on methodology as well as combinatorial applications, offers a graduate-level introduction to the probabilistic methods, a fundamental and powerful technique in combinatorics and theoretical computer science. The essence of the technique is to show that some combinatorial object exists and then to prove that a certain random construction works with positive probability. An earlier version of the course is still available on MIT OpenCourseWare, but this updated version includes newly revised lecture notes and revised problem sets. |
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| Humanities and Social Sciences |
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11.350 Sustainable Real Estate
The building sector generates a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, so changes in the way we construct, heat, cool, and light our buildings are a crucial part of efforts to combat global climate change. But how can we make those changes happen? This course provides a systematic introduction to the most challenging issues in promoting sustainability in the real estate industry. The convenient modular structure of the course site interleaves links to lecture notes and information on assigned readings with eleven lecture videos (by three different instructors) that examine economic mechanisms, technological advances, business models, building design, and investment and financing strategies to promote sustainability in the building sector.
21G.321 Childhood and Youth in French and Francophone Cultures
Youth is a source of fascination in most Western cultures. It can be both a major inspiration for artistic creation and also a political concept, in the name of which policies are pursued. As such, it is frequently a vital component of national identity. What does it mean to be young in France? When does a child become a young adult, and when does youth end? This course studies the transformation of youth since the 18th century and the changing experiences of becoming an adult in contemporary French society, examining representations of youth in literature, film, and popular song.
21G.346 North America through French Eyes
This course offers an analysis of the keen interest shown by France and the French in North American cultures since the 18th century. Not only did France contribute to the construction of both Canada and the United States, but it has also constantly delineated its identity by way of praising or criticizing North American cultures. Using materials drawn from literature, comics, films, and TV shows as well as political debates, this course historically traces this ambivalent relation, exploring various themes such as liberalism, entertainment and the media, trade and cultural goods, transatlantic intellectual encounters, and translation.
21G.S56 Japanese VI
This experimental version of 21G.506 Japanese VI was designed to offer a combination of in-person and synchronous remote instruction to help advanced students progress simultaneously in four skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while providing immersion in various aspects of Japanese culture through authentic everyday Japanese media. The materials available to MIT OpenCourseWare users, including extensive grammar notes, lecture videos, and kanji study guides, are presented almost exclusively in Japanese. Also included in the course are a “Related Resources” page and a “Culture Notes” page, each of which offers a list of links to external websites learners may find useful. |
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| Image by MIT OpenCourseWare |
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| Some 500 million people in the world, including over 40 million in the United States, speak Spanish as their native language. Some of those people are also fluent in English, but not all of them. As part of an effort to make MIT’s free educational materials accessible to a wider audience, we’ve recently added high-quality Spanish captions and transcripts to the lecture videos in our most recent version of 6.100L Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python. We hope this will substantially expand the reach and impact of this foundational course in OCW’s most popular topic. |
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| Further MIT OpenCourseWare Materials |
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| Take Free or Low-Cost Online Courses Taught by MIT's Nobel Laureates |
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| Image by Katherine Oullette |
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| Did you know that MIT has more than 100 Nobel laureates? You can learn economics, physics, chemistry, and biology from MIT’s winners of the Nobel Prize through MIT OpenCourseWare, MITx, and MITx MicroMasters. Read more about some of the Institute’s Nobel laureates and their free or low-cost courses available online in this Medium article by MIT Open Learning. |
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| Support Free Resources from MIT |
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| MIT OpenCourseWare’s free educational materials bring joy to millions of learners like Maria year-round. Your support can help us enrich learners’ lives with even more content. |
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| Newsletter edited by Shira Segal with contributions from Peter Chipman, production assistance from Stephanie Hodges, and resource development by Duyen Nguyen and Yvonne Ng. |
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| We want to hear from you! How can MIT OpenCourseWare help you in your educational endeavors? Write to us at ocw@mit.edu with questions or suggestions. |
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| More free resources from MIT Open Learning are available at: |
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