| Your OpenCourseWare Newsletter | August 2023 |
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| MIT Tour Guides (photo by Gretchen Ertl) |
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| Every season is open season for learning at MIT OpenCourseWare! But here in the late summer of Cambridge, Massachusetts, we are relishing our new course publications and celebrating our award-winning instructors whose work extends beyond our campus. We’re especially inspired by the independent learners who make use of OpenCourseWare materials in their own learning, and we’re eager to share these stories and material with you here. Read more below, and visit the OpenCourseWare website today! |
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| Credit: Image by Kevin Ku (@ikukevk) at unsplash. |
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| Sixteen-year-old David taught himself how to code with MIT courses on OpenCourseWare and is paying it forward to his community. From Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python and Single Variable Calculus to Classical Mechanics, David’s use of MIT’s freely available materials not only fuels his interest in studying AI and machine learning but also inspires him to similarly inspire others. David’s story illustrates the impact of accessible educational resources and the power of learning computer programming: “My hope is that I can use my knowledge to make coding understandable to kids in my community.” Cheers to learners like David and the further learning he will enable! Read more in this Medium blog story from MIT Open Learning. |
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| Credit: The 2023 Levitan Award winners are (clockwise from top left): Nicholas Ackert, Nilma Dominque, Caitlyn Doyle, Margery Resnick, Teresa Neff, and Emily Goodling. Photos courtesy of the respective MIT departments. |
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| The James A. and Ruth Levitan Award for Excellence in Teaching honors exceptional educators in MIT’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. These annual awards are given based on nominations by undergraduate and graduate students, and are open to professors, lecturers, and teaching assistants. You too can learn from some of these award-winning instructors that earned their students’ nominations – courses like International Women’s Voices, The Beatles (yes, the band!), and The Beat of Brazil: Brazilian Society through its Music are all available on OpenCourseWare. Read about these courses and more from some of this year’s award recipients in this Open Mattters blog post from MIT OpenCourseWare. |
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| New Courses and Resources |
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| Credit: The principal mode (lowest eigenfunction of the Laplacian) for an equilateral triangle. (Image courtesy of Paul Seidel.) |
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| Humanities and Social Sciences |
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21A.00 Introduction to Anthropology: Explore fundamental questions about what it means to be human in this anthropology course that provides a comparative study of different cultures. How does culture shape societies? This course provides an anthropological framework for analyzing diverse facets of human experience, including gender, ethnicity, language, politics, economics, and art. This course also includes an Instructor Insights interview with Prof. Graham Jones!
17.50 Introduction to Comparative Politics: This new political science course examines why democracy emerges and survives in some countries rather than others. How do political institutions impact economic development? What are the economic, cultural, and institutional explanations for a country’s political outcome? How do American politics compare to those of other countries? Includes assignments that will provoke you to think philosophically about the role of states, countries, and legislature.
24.131 Ethics of Technology: Learn about the tools of philosophical ethics in this new linguistics and philosophy course that examines the pressing, contemporary issues concerning technology today. Topics include privacy and surveillance, algorithmic bias, the promise and peril of artificial intelligence, automation and the future of work, and threats to democracy in the digital age. Want to discuss the impacts of online manipulation or the possibilities of algorithmic justice? This course is for you! |
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| Science, Math, Technology, and Engineering |
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9.401 Tools for Robust Science: This graduate-level course in brain and cognitive sciences offers a comprehensive exploration of cutting-edge tools and techniques that are designed to revitalize and enhance scientific practices. Learn to identify and overcome the obstacles to conducting robust scientific research as well as how to critically evaluate the very tools you are learning to use. From issues of biased literature and institutional gatekeeping to addressing underrepresentation in the field to include a wider range of voices, this course outlines the pressing issues we face in cognitive and neuro-sciences today.
18.900 Geometry and Topology in the Plane: This new mathematics course on differential geometry and topology provides a “moderate hike” through geometric and topological topics that can be visualized easily. From polygons and billiards to loops, immersed loops, and algebraic curves, and then further on to hyperbolic and curved geometries, this course includes Prof. Paul Seidel’s detailed lecture notes and comprehension questions, and is also beautifully illustrated with mathematical drawings by Talia Blum! |
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| 11.165J Urban Energy Systems and Policy: What can cities and citizens do to reduce their energy use and carbon emissions? Learn how to intervene in the energy use of cities by using policy, technology, economics, and urban planning in this cross-departmental course that bridges urban policy and planning with civil and environmental engineering. By focusing on the scale of cities and users, this course outlines what an equitable energy transition may look like while identifying key issues for future management, intervention, or revolution. Planners, engineers, and climate change activists: take advantage of these full lecture videos and lecture slides! |
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RES.12-002 Terrascope: Interested in how first-year students at MIT are tackling environmental issues on a global scale and creating innovative solutions for a sustainable future? Explore MIT’s Terrascope learning community program where students address real-world problems with interdisciplinary research and a rotating set of courses on urgent, environmental engineering topics. For instance, check out Design for Complex Environmental Issues where students design and prototype their own technologies for sustainability solutions, and Terrascope Radio where students discuss these issues and how to solve the complex problems we face today.
RES.21M-001 Heavy Metal 101: No, not that kind of metal! This music and theater arts course on Heavy Metal music features full video lectures on musicology, music theory, tech-based instruments, harsh vocal techniques, and metal culture. How does the genre tackle some of today’s biggest sociopolitical challenges? Find out why metal bands exist in every country on Earth in this course which has been rockin’ MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) since 2006!
RES.9-005 FMRI Bootcamp: Interested in data analysis tools and datasets? Dive into this video lecture series (taught by MIT Prof. Rebecca Saxe and housed by the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines in their Science of Intelligence Learning Hub) on the basics of anatomical and functional MRI and how the fMRI signal works. Learn several methods for analyzing fMRI data and how to think about those steps of analysis.
7.28x Molecular Biology by MITx Courses: Get inspired by this self-paced, free version of this Molecular Biology course from MIT’s Department of Biology. In this three-part series, you can learn about genre regulation, DNA replication, genetic recombination, transcription, and mRNA translation. There you can learn how molecular mechanisms control the expression and evolution of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes! |
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| Credit: Three people seated in front of an audience, in front of a screen that reads, Open Learning – Eric Grimson, Cynthia Breazeal, Chris Capozzola, June 2, 2023. (Image by Yvonne Ng/MIT Open Learning) |
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| What are the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education today? The leadership of MIT Open Learning (of which OpenCourseWare is part) discussed this very topic earlier this summer at an event with alumni and friends titled “Today’s technologies in education — generative AI, responsible design, and the future of learning.” Read more about the insights and observations of Vice President for Open Learning Eric Grimson, Dean for Digital Learning Cynthia Breazeal, and Senior Associate Dean for Open Learning Christopher Capozzola in this Medium blog story from MIT Open Learning. |
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| Support from learners like you helps us make resources from MIT freely available to the world all year-round. Give to OCW today to support new courses, videos, and educator conversations: |
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| We want to hear from you! How can MIT OCW help you in your educational endeavors? Write to us at [email protected] with questions or suggestions about how we might support you on your learning or teaching journey. |
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