Open Courseware and Online Learning: A Dynamic Flux

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has agreed to join Massachusetts Institute of Technology‘s (MIT) OpenCourseWare community...MIT’s OpenCourseWare currently has over 250 universities onboard and the prominent members include Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore; Yale University; Peking University; Harvard Law School; University of Notre Dame; Tufts University; University of California, Irvine and Utah State University. The consortium claims to have published materials from more than 13,000 courses in 20 languages, available through its website. MIT had reportedly invited IIT to join its OpenCourseWare consortium in 2007 but IIT had apparently declined the invitation then, stating that their initiatives are still young to join the Open Source learning bandwagon, as stated by TOI. _Source

Udemy is a new addition to the list of online open courseware providers. Some courses are free, and others require a fee. Udemy provides something called "The Faculty Project" which aims to provide a wide range of free university level courses to online learners, as well as providing a technology platform for professors to create new courses.

The infographic below, from onlinecollegecourses.com, provides a quick snapshot of the rapidly changing entity known as open courseware. A year from now, the entire project is likely to have grown appreciably.

Via: Online College Courses Blog

More sites for free video courses and lectures:

Freevideolectures.com

Academic Earth

Lecturefox

LearnersTV

Some emerging tech trends for online classes

Remember: Anything that moves education toward the open source model, is probably a good thing. Anything that moves education toward increasing dependency upon government and a highly centralised, top-down sanctioning of education, is probably a bad thing.

Pimp My DNA---Biology in the Digital Age

This is a nice accessible 1 hour Google Tech video that explains the impact of high speed automation and data analysis in biomedical research. If you want to better understand where the genomic revolution is heading, take a look. ( Via Eye on DNA)

The video includes an introduction to "Systems Biology", a dynamic new field in biology that promises to radically alter most of the things we think we know about biology. It also looks at the historical background of DNA science, at the state of the art, at DNA engineering, and at open source genomics.

Highly provocative and mind-stretching.

Programming DNA : Basics -- One Hour Video

This talk will introduce current best practice in biological engineering, including an overview of how to order synthetic DNA and how to use and contribute standard biological parts to an open source collection of genetic functions. The talk will also discuss issues of human practice, including biological safety, biological security, ownership, sharing, and innovation in biotechnology, community organization, and perception across many different publics.

Video's Google Page

If you do not have a technical background, this video may require more than one viewing to get an understanding of most of the basics.

H/T Biosingularity

Once you start to get a feeling for what can be done, what cannot be done--but will be done soon, what cannot be done--and will probably never be done . . . etc., you will begin to understand that a trillion dollars a year is being spent to wage and defend against the last millenium's weaponry.

When the technology described in this video (along with advanced nanotechnology) begins to kick in, all bets will be off. It will be easier for a motivated lone fanatic to commit mass mayhem and murder than it is for you to open a bank account.

In Israel they have bomb shelters and gas masks, because they understand their bad neighbors' tendencies and unneighborly wishes.

We in the west live in a public society, where much is shared commonly. We take such public activity and openness for granted, and assume it is our right. An occasional workplace, school, or shopping mall shooting does not dampen our naive expectation of safety in the public sphere. The new terrorism, when this technology matures, will not allow us this easy confidence. No security force or agency in the world is prepared.

Information about Adventures in Synthetic Biology comic here. Full pdf of Adventures in Synthetic Biology. To view the Adventures in Synthetic Biology Comic go here.

Embryonic Cell Division Animation

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs): from totipotency to pluripotency to multipotency to differentiated precursor. An interesting short animation tutorial. More cell division videos here.

H/T Snowcrash at Biosingularity

If you need to learn more about the basics of stem cells, check out this video stem cell primer.

An Optical Trick

Click on this link to get the Google Video larger screen version, then watch it for the full one and a half minutes. You may feel like you're in The Matrix for a few seconds.

Who Wants to Live Forever?

This video is an entertaining look at Aubrey de Grey and his modern immortalist movement that is pushing the scientific envelope.

With loads of interview footage with de Grey, and quotes from both friend and foe, this irreverent look at de Grey is worth a look.

Hat tip Our Technological Future

Computer Visualizations of The Real World--Awesome!

This video comes by way of Biosingularity. Snowcrash has several great new posts, so check them out.

This video illustrates the use of supercomputer simulation/visualization for several areas of science. The simulation of galaxy formation near the end is one of my favourites.

Snowcrash' Carnival of Biosingularity

This excellent video on retroviral mechanisms is just one of a wonderful carnival of 4th of July postings from our old friend Snowcrash at Biosingularity. Check them out.

DNA Video: Wrapping and Replication

Online Science Video Sites:
Free Science Videos and Lectures

Free Science Online

101Science.com

Redwood Center Neurolectures

Vega Science Trust

And many others available through video searches on YouTube and GoogleVideo. Also look under the main sidebar at alfin2100 under audio/video archives.