Degreed: Pathways

After listening to a Degree of Freedom podcast recently, I discovered this site called Degreed, and I am hooked. Degreed is a site where you can display all of your education including MOOCs, books read, University degrees, events attended, and videos watched. Most of the business and education world put so much emphasis on the formal education that one has received, but disregard other educational experiences that contribute to each individual’s knowledge.

While I am excited to get started building my profile, I am most excited about a feature they offer called “Pathways.” Pathways are specific tracks of study that compile an entire sequence of courses for you from a chosen field from MOOC providers that are the equivalent to a traditional degree program. In the Computer Science pathway, each section of classes is divided into categories including Math, Theory of Computer Science, Computer Security, and Machine Learning. I will definitely be using this as a guide for studying in the field of Computer Science.

Here is the curriculum laid out for the Computer Science Pathway:

Computer Science Level 1 Pathway:

Introduction to Computer Science

— Lesson 1: Programming (An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python)
— Lesson 2: Principles of Computing (Principles of Computing)
— Lesson 3: Algorithmic Thinking (Algorithmic Thinking)

Foundations of Computer Science

— Lesson 1: Computer Architecture (The Hardware/Software Interface)
— Lesson 2: Computer Networks (Computer Networks)
— Lesson 3: Design and Analysis of Algorithms (Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 1 & Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 2)

Math

— Lesson 1: Calculus (Calculus One & Calculus Two: Sequences and Series)
— Lesson 2: Statistics (Introduction to Probability – The Science of Uncertainty)
— Lesson 3: Linear Algebra (Linear Algebra – Foundations to Frontiers)

Science

— Lesson 1: Physics (Intro to Physics)
— Lesson 2: Electricity and Magnetism (Electricity & Magnetism)
— Lesson 3: Electronics (Circuits and Electronics)

Computer Science Level 2 Pathway:

Theory of Computer Science

— Lesson 1: Automata (Automata)
— Lesson 2: Compilers (Compilers)
— Lesson 3: Analysis of Algorithms (Analysis of Algorithms & Analytic Combinatorics)
— Lesson 4: Quantum Computing (Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Computation)

Applied Computer Science

— Lesson 1: Databases (Introduction to Databases)
— Lesson 2: Parallel Programming (Heterogeneous Parallel Programming)
— Lesson 3: Embedded Systems (Embedded Systems – Shape the World)

Computer Security

— Lesson 1: Cryptography (Cryptography I & Cryptography II)
— Lesson 2: Computer Security (Computer Security)

Machine Learning

— Lesson 1: Machine Learning (Machine Learning)
— Lesson 2: Natural Language Processing (Natural Language Processing)
— Lesson 3: Probabilistic Graphical Models (Probabilistic Graphical Models)

Rice University’s “Fundamentals of Computing” Coursera Specialization

Early this year, Coursera introduced “Specializations“, which are a paid sequence of courses with a capstone project resulting in a Specialization Certificate that verifies your identity and gives you a more legitimate credential for your work. Rice University is offering a “Fundamentals of Computing” Specialization which consists of three courses and a capstone project which make up the core curriculum for their first year Computer Science students. As an addition to my Computer Science education project, I am considering diving in!

The three classes are:
An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python
Principles of Computing
Algorithmic Thinking

The cost for this program is $196. You can certainly take these courses for free if you wish, but no Specialization Certificate will be awarded, and you will not be able to participate in the capstone project.

It’s great to be able to take courses for free occasionally and not have the pressure of completing it, but having a verified certificate will strengthen your credibility, and paying for it will, hopefully, cause you to take it more seriously.

Statement of Accomplishment: Internet History, Technology, and Security

I just finished the University of Michigan’s “Internet History, Technology, and Security” class by Professor Charles Severance a.k.a Dr. Chuck and earned my Statement of Accomplishment! I learned so much from this class that was once a mystery to me. This class is a great supplement to computer-related areas of study and will give a thorough overview of the subject. Dr. Chuck will be offering another upcoming University of Michigan class on Coursera called “Programming for Everybody” that I am considering taking. The class will teach the basics of computer programming using the Python language. Check them out!

Statement of Accomplishment: Creative, Serious, and Playful Science of Android Apps

I am proud to say that I have earned my Statement of Accomplishment for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Creative, Serious, and Playful Science of Android Apps class on Coursera. This class was the perfect introduction to building Android apps and it gave me projects and ideas to improve upon in the future. At some point, I will post some of the apps that I created from this class after I put the final touches on them.

Statement of Accomplishment: Entrepreneur Class

Here is my first Statement of Accomplishment from successfully completing a class via Coursera! This class was the “Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship” class from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Android App Class (University of Illinois)

I want to recommend a class to those who are looking for a beginner’s approach to building Android apps. It is the “Creative, Serious and Playful Science of Android Apps” class from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Coursera, and it is the perfect introduction to the subject for those will little or no programming background. I had set a goal for myself a few months ago to build my own app sometime this year, and after signing up for this class, I am well on my way to building several apps this year!

After finishing up the “Android Developer Track,” I am now in the 7th week of the class in the “Computer Science & Programming Track.” The instructor, Lawrence Angrave, has done an amazing job at teaching! So far, from my class projects, there are a couple of apps that I plan to improve as I learn more, and I plan to place them in the Google Play store.

Rebranding my Design Business

After months of designing and developing a new brand for my design business, formerly BeeHawkStudio, I have finally launched the rebrand today: Pixel Paper Studio. I held the former name since 2009, as it was a play on my maiden name (Brittany Hawkins) and my artist signature (b.hawk). I eventually came to the conclusion that it didn’t properly represent my business as a provider of both print design and web design, and I realized that it was hard to tell what the business was about by just looking at the name.

I chose Pixel Paper Studio because the name relays both the web and print aspect of graphic design. The origami bird icon was birthed from this name and represents both paper and abstract pixels (who says a pixel has to be square?) I knew I wanted a bird incorporated into the logo because I have a strong personal connection with the motif of a bird because it represents freedom to me. The name and the bird icon all fell perfectly together throughout the development of the concept.

Computer Science Degree Project

I’m going to take you on a journey, and along this journey, I discovered something life-changing. This something would change my views of education and my future. This is a journey of how I came to the realization that I could earn a B.S. in Computer Science education without paying a dime. A few of months ago, I discovered MOOCs. What is a MOOC, you ask? Well, I had the same question. A MOOC is a “Massive Open Online Course” that is free to the public. Before I get more into that, though, let’s start at the beginning of this journey.

I come from a graphic design background, having a B.F.A. in the subject, working mainly in print with limited web design experience. It wasn’t until I was hired on to my current job as a web designer that I gained a strong interest in web development. As time went by, I worked hard at becoming more knowledgeable and experienced in HTML and CSS. I was thankful for the opportunity to work on those skills everyday at work. In this, I gained more and more confidence in my abilities while growing more in love with development and eventually decided that this was indeed the career path I wanted to continue on.

This career decision led to my search for graduate programs in web development. It has always been in the back of my mind that I would one day like to earn a Master’s degree, though I was never sure exactly what I wanted to study. After much research, I found the program that fit my career goals and situation the best. It was the University of Florida’s Web Design and Online Communications online Master’s degree program. The program was designed specifically for those who are already working full-time. The program dealt with the very things that I do at my job with additional skill-sets that I could learn that would help me advance and become more knowledgeable in my field. While watching an informative video session for the UF program, I heard the buzz word “MOOC” and heard a brief description of what it was, but I didn’t give it much thought at the time. I was focused on my pursuit of a Master’s degree. I had, and still have, the motivation for it. I just simply didn’t have the funds, nor will I have the funds to pay back the student loans on top of my undergrad loans that I am currently paying back. So, after this reality fell on me, I began to search for other ways to quench my thirst for knowledge.

I first started exploring TED talks via podcasts on subjects that interested me such as technology, design, business, computer science, and education. I one day stumbled upon a TED talk by Daphne Koller titled “What we’re learning from online education.” In this talk, Daphne, a Stanford professor, discussed an online education company she had co-founded called Coursera. Coursera is an “education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.” This discovery of Coursera changed everything for me (in terms of my educational goals). When I first pulled up the site, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I couldn’t believe that all of these courses (MOOCs) were available to me for free. So, I signed up for a couple that were starting soon that coincided with my interests in business and computer science: Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland, College Park (in which I have just received my Statement of Accomplishment certificate), and Creative, Serious, and Playful Science of Android Apps from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (in which I have three weeks left!). I have since discovered more online education platforms offering free education including EdX, Udacity, and FutureLearn.

After searching for every podcast I could find that discussed MOOCs and Coursera, I came across one called Degree of Freedom. Through this podcast by Jonathan Haber, I discovered an interesting project he had undertaken called “The One Year BA.” In this project, using only MOOCs and other free open education resources, he gained the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. This inspired me to pursue my own degree equivalent project in computer science.

Why computer science? Well, through my growing interest in web development and my ever-present thirst for knowledge, I had previously set out to learn as much as I can about computers. I have always had a fascination with them and have longed to know how everything works. While in college studying graphic design, I had often wondered what it would be like to learn programming and take computer science courses to aid me in my one web design class. I now have the opportunity to study this field and gain the equivalent of a B.S. in Computer Science through this new education revolution called MOOCs.

I will be chronicling my journey through this project on this blog, and when I am finished, I may move on to other degree projects, such as in business, marketing, or psychology!

– Brittany Hawkins Davis